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Teenage victim in landmark Kenya rape case forced to leave village after threats
Source: The Observer
Teenage victim in landmark Kenya rape case forced to leave village after threats
Tracy McVeigh
Saturday 2 May 2015 17.45 BST
It was a brutal crime that became the focus for international condemnation and headlines across the world.
When it was revealed that the gang rapists of a 16-year-old girl in a small Kenyan town were sentenced to cut the grass around their local police station as a punishment, outrage about the case led to two million people backing a Twitter campaign #justiceforliz – using the pseudonym given to the girl by the journalists who first reported on the rape.
The campaign finally led, two weeks ago, to prison sentences of 15 years each for the three perpetrators who had been initially freed. The outcome is being seen as a breakthrough in Kenya’s justice system – but it turns out to have come at a very high price. Liz and her family have been forced into hiding because of reprisal attacks and threats from the families of the men.
Liz’s mother told the Observer that the family have had to move from their village in Busia and relocate to another county. Even at their new home, they depend for security on Kenya’s Witness Protection Agency.
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Tracy McVeigh
Saturday 2 May 2015 17.45 BST
It was a brutal crime that became the focus for international condemnation and headlines across the world.
When it was revealed that the gang rapists of a 16-year-old girl in a small Kenyan town were sentenced to cut the grass around their local police station as a punishment, outrage about the case led to two million people backing a Twitter campaign #justiceforliz – using the pseudonym given to the girl by the journalists who first reported on the rape.
The campaign finally led, two weeks ago, to prison sentences of 15 years each for the three perpetrators who had been initially freed. The outcome is being seen as a breakthrough in Kenya’s justice system – but it turns out to have come at a very high price. Liz and her family have been forced into hiding because of reprisal attacks and threats from the families of the men.
Liz’s mother told the Observer that the family have had to move from their village in Busia and relocate to another county. Even at their new home, they depend for security on Kenya’s Witness Protection Agency.
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Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/may/02/victim-kenya-rape-conviction-forced-leave-village-liz
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