Kenya’s Gang-Rape Trio Get 15 Years

Three men accused of gang-raping a teenage Kenyan girl and dumping her in a sewage ditch have each received 15-year jail terms.

After reports suggested that the punishment meted out to the rapist by the police was to cut grass, the case prompted more than 1.8 million people to sign an online petition demanding justice.

“sentencing is sure to have a ripple effect across the nation, and hopefully the region at large,” said lawyer Kimberly Brown, from the campaign group Equality Now, which supported the schoolgirl.

The then 16-year-old victim, identified as Liz, was reportedly attacked, beaten and then raped by six men as she returned from her grandfather’s funeral in western Kenya in June 2013.

She suffered a broken back, caused either by the beating or by being hurled down into the pit, as well as serious internal injuries from the rape.

“The fact that Liz’s case took so long to reach this point — and still faced serious obstacles despite strong national and global support — illustrates the injustices that are still suffered by survivors,” Brown said.

“While Kenya boasts one of the most progressive legal and policy frameworks for addressing sexual violence, Liz’s case and countless others have revealed significant failures of local authorities to adequately address sexual violence.”

Other suspects are on the run, with the public prosecutor ordering they be “apprehended and brought to justice without further delay.”

Sentencing had been set for last Friday but was delayed after one of the men skipped bail and failed to turn up, but police arrested him over the weekend.