PART III Extent and Impact of Post Election Violence - Mars Group ...

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and his penis. Not only did they refuse, but they warned his wife that if she insisted, she “would end up like [her brother] and that it was not their work”. The body thus remained uncollected for two days, started rotting and was eaten by dogs. It was only later that she got help from other police officers who were Kalenjin. It is the Commission’s view that the involvement of state security agents in the perpetration of sexual violence and the fear of incriminating themselves may partly explain why the police omitted data on sexual violence in the reports they presented to the Commission. The Commission also felt that it was unfortunate that the Commissioner of Police testified that he could not determine whether sexual violence was fit to be reported and was unaware that anyone had been arrested and charged for commission of such crimes. 224 Furthermore, the horrendous experiences of the women who testified before the Commission illustrated the same broad concerns with the security forces. The Commission also learnt about this from other witnesses speaking about the post election violence in Kenya. These included those who were supposed to be keeping order and protecting citizens but were rather perpetrators themselves, a refusal to help citizens who came directly to officers for help or to report crimes, a breakdown along ethnic lines mirroring the way in which violence as a whole manifested after the election, and a callous indifference if not outright hostility to victims who often had experienced multiple tragedies and had their lives turned upside down, sometimes in minutes and sometimes in days. Furthermore, what the Commission heard from these witnesses once again reminded the Commission about the precariousness of both state and society in Kenya. The testimony the Commission received brought the realization once again that if the current state of impunity and the belief that individuals in authority and their followers have a license to maim and kill without being held accountable continues, both sexual violence and other forms of post election 224 CW 1, See Hansard, Vol. 1, p. 47 257
violence would easily happen again. In short, while different in some respects, in others the sexual violence after the election also mirrored many facets of the post election violence in general. Organized Gangs According to statements received by the Commission, the victims of sexual violence from some areas told us that they were attacked by members of organized gangs. In Nairobi, Naivasha and Nakuru, there were claims that Mungiki was involved, with their members targeting men as opposed to women. This might explain why there were no reported cases of rape and defilement in Naivasha, but instead there were cases of men being targeted and being forcibly circumcised. Dr Kariuki Gichuki, the current Medical Officer of Health for Nakuru225confirmed having received 6 cases of forced circumcision which he described as ‘traumatic circumcision….because usually circumcision, either you are in the hospital or in a traditional setting that is clean and boundary kind of surgical procedure but this one was a bit crude and not orderly’. The doctor further referred to the cases as ones of ‘pilary amputation’ and explained that ‘usually, circumcision is the surgical removal of foreskin but in [a particular case] a 22 year old male [had his] whole penis actually cut’. In addition to destroying property, killing and maiming, the members of the Mungiki gang were said to target men from specific communities believed not to practice circumcision and also believed to be in support of a particular political party with a view to circumcising them. The cruelty of what transpired differed from victim to victim. A married Luo woman with two children, originally from Huruma estate in Nairobi but displaced to an IDP camp 226 testified in camera as follows: 225 CW 46 226 CW 16, 258
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Page 5 and 6: providing victims with medical, psy
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Page 13 and 14: eceive its “comprehensive service
Page 15 and 16: The people whom the Commission hear
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Page 21: themselves, but also of deliberate
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Page 35: That said, in all societies sexual

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