Land disputes, inheritance blamed for high GBV cases

Land disputes have been blamed on the high prevalence of sexual and gender-based violence in Maragua subcounty, Murang’a county.

Of 100 cases reported, 20 SGBV, while half relate to land and inheritance issues, said Makuyu assistant county commissioner Ngige Wainaina.

Majority of the cases, however, go unreported due to stigma, while others are resolved out of court.

“Many people still struggle to understand that the law has given equal rights to men and women when it comes to inheritance,” Wainaina said.

He said there is a huge number of men who wants to disinherit women, sparking conflicts.

Even more disturbing is the fact that sexual violence is used to silence some members of the public who are involved in land inheritance squabbles.

In Igikiro and Kahamuha areas, rape, sodomy and incest, have sparked concern among members of the public and leaders.

Consumption of drugs such as bhang and second-generation brews have also been blamed for some incidences of SGBV, especially the ones involving intimate partners.

Maragua MP Mary Waithera organised an SGBV awareness meeting to end stigma and allow locals to open up on their traumas.

“We have been receiving reports that men are sodomised, but we have not received any official reports. This makes it difficult for us to take the appropriate action,” Wainaina said.

“The stigma associated with it discourages men from reporting, which only serves to encourage the trend."

As such, Wainaina sid, the administration has made a point of ensuring SGBV issues are addressed in any public forum to create awareness.

They also use public barazas to enlighten locals on inheritance laws to stem victimisation.

Waithera expressed concerns that many residents are quietly nursing psychological and physical traumas after being subjected to sexual violence.

The MP said there is a gang of men targeting alcoholic men and sodomising them.

“Just recently, a police officer was sodomised in this area. The police officer is a drunkard and had a habit of sleeping on roadsides and I’m calling on the National Police Service to get him the necessary help and transfer him from this area,” she said.

Waithera said the high prevalence of SGBV puts the entire community, especially the elderly and children at risk.

She also expressed concerns over the high prevalence of marital rape, saying many women are being violated in and outside their homes.

“Many men seem not to understand that you cannot force your wife to sleep with you just because she’s your wife and the women just suffer silently because they don’t want to expose their husbands," Waithera said.

“This is especially worse if the man smokes bhang. If most women in rural areas opened up, they would give horror stories of what they go through."

She appealed to men to treat their partners with respect and ensure they get consent before engaging in sexual activities.

“This is why we’re advocating for a complete change of behavior and perception. Everybody is at risk. We all need to work together,” she said.

Waithera encouraged dialogue between partners and children, emphasising the need for parents to talk to their children on what is wrong and right.

She said an emerging habit of mothers spoiling their adult male children is giving rise to a generation of irresponsible men, who terrorise their spouses.

“We have seen incidences of mothers washing clothes of their adult sons. Others wake up late at night to serve their sons when they come home from their drinking sprees yet they don’t do the same for their husbands," the MPs said.

She cited the example of a man from the area who demanded a meal of fried githeri from his mother on a Sunday morning last year and after a back and forth, killed her.

In another incident in Ihumbu village, a 40 year-old man raped his mother, chopped her body and stacked it in a sack before burying it in a shallow hole at the entrance of her house.

A mob later lynched the man after his younger brother discovered their mother’s body and called for help.

Waithera said all women leaders have resolved to create awareness on SGBV in the villages to reduce stigma and encourage victims to make reports.

Nominated Senator Veronica Maina, who is also the chairperson of the Kenya Women Senators Association, said many cases of SGBV later progress to femicide.

“Kewosa, which has about 102 members, has decided to start these conversations in the grassroots, in areas that are largely behind on SGBV matters," she said.