Lost Innocence: Horrific details on how suspects of defilement were punished culturally
A defilement victim.
*Warning: The following story contains disturbing content
Mtaa Wangu caught up with Andrew Yatich, a member of the Kalenjin Council of Elders to learn the cultural way of dealing with suspects of defilement.
According to Mr Yatich, once the parents of the victim reported the case to the village elders, a Baraza was convened on neutral grounds to hear out both parties.
If the accused was found guilty, there are a number of things that were considered before deciding on the appropriate punishment such as the perpetrator’s age or the child’s age.
Mr. Yatich reveals that within the cultural way of dealing with defilement, there’s the historical response and the current one.
Andrew Yatich, a member of the Kalenjin Council of Elders.
He shares, “Culture sure has come a long way. In the past, methods of punishment were way harsher and some methods that we would resort to are now considered illegal.”
Historically, if the accused had defiled a child less than 10 years of age, they would be stoned, and their family fined cows, goats, and jars of honey.
Elder Yatich notes, “If say a girl was defiled and she became pregnant as a result, we would wait for her to give birth before killing the child, as the child would be considered an abomination.”
Afterwards, a cleansing ritual would be performed on the girl to seek forgiveness from the slain child and to also wipe the girl’s slate clean and symbolize a new beginning.
“The cleansing was done through kupaka mafuta ya kondoo ama asali. The cleansing ritual was viewed as an exorcism since defilement was believed to be demonic. After the cleaning ritual, the child was now free to be reintegrated with the rest of the society,” the elder narrates.
However, Elder Yatich notes that in this day and age, some of these practices have been phased out specifically citing that infanticide and stoning are no longer practiced.
He shares, “In these current times, once the accused is found guilty, he or she is fined dependent on their age and that of the victim. The fine varies from goats to cows. Although these days, once the perpetrator is caught, most of them are forwarded to the police.”
He adds that currently, if a child is born as a result of defilement, they are let to live as part of the society without judgment.
When asked whether the cleansing ritual is still practiced by people currently, Mr. Yatich notes that it is still practiced though ‘chini ya maji.’
On his part, Sammy Kung’u says back then, the suspect would be summoned by the old men and be asked to give a fine of cows and goats.
“The number of the animals would vary depending on the age of the victim. The younger the victim, the more the animals,” he adds.
In addition, the man would be made to marry the girl.
However, if the cases were inhumane, a beehive would be tied on the suspect and he would be thrown off a slope.
In extreme cases, the suspect would be chased out of that area, never to return.
Asked whether there were ways of protecting children at the time, Sammy says it was subjective as girls for instance were not taken to school.
“The elderly people saw it as wasted investment since the girl would eventually be married off anyway.”
While speaking to Pastor Elly Gudo, he shares that for his community, punishment for child defilement was also dependent on the victim’s age.
Pastor Elly Gudo.
He shares, “If the child was below five years of age, the perpetrator would be killed through any means the victim’s family saw fit. If the child was above five years, the perpetrator and their family would be required to pay fines in form of goats and cows.”
Pastor Elly additionally notes that if the defiled child was between sixteen to eighteen years of age, then the girl would be married off to the perpetrator since it was an abomination to have a child outside wedlock.
He narrates, “The perpetrator’s family would have to visit the girl’s family to present dowry and cows that were termed as ‘blood money’ to seek the family’s forgiveness. These livestock would be presented through emissaries that were mostly the elderly family members before asking for the girl’s hand in marriage.”
At the same time Elder Yatich notes that as an elder, there are some challenges they face as a council while resolving defilement cases.
Related: Lost Innocence: A woman's fight for justice after daughter was allegedly defiled by teacher
He shares, “The most common drawback we experience is withholding of information which then interferes with serving justice. Another drawback experienced is shame. We are Africans and you know how awkward it gets talking about sexual matters in front of very young children as an adult.”