A 13-year-old minor who has allegedly been defiled by his biological father for the past three years and forced to undergo abortion three times now claims her life is in danger after she testified against her father.
In her testimony at Mombasa Law Courts, the minor whose identity we have concealed told the court that his father began by sexually molesting her at the age of 11 after she and her younger brother were left under the care of their father since their mother used to work for long hours.
“My mother used to work at a hotel within town and would come back home very late after her night shifts so l would cook, clean and feed my younger brother. We used to sleep on the floor, while my parents slept in bed. At night my father would remove the mosquito net, sleep next to me and start caressing me. I would resist and whenever he noticed my brother was awake, he would pretend that he was going for a short call,” she narrated.
The minor revealed that she was first defiled in 2017 when her father sent the brother to the shop. He grabbed her, closed the door from inside and defiled her.
“After the incident, I told my mother what had happened. My mother confronted my father who denied claiming l was lying and they both beat me,” she said.
She says the incident marked the beginning of a series of several defilement incidences by her father.
The minor reveals that at one instance, she missed her periods and her father forced her to abort.
“My father took me to a nearby clinic near Sabasaba where some medicine was inserted into my private parts and l was asked to go home. In the evening, l experienced a lot of pain and began bleeding. That is how I lost my first pregnancy,” she told the court.
“In the same year, l became pregnant again, and since my father kept on inquiring if l had received my periods l told him l had not. He took me to Tudor clinic where a pregnancy test was conducted. It came out positive. l was taken to the same clinic and the same procedure was performed and l lost my second pregnancy,” she added.
The minor further revealed that she was so used to defilement that she thought it happened to every girl at their homestead.
“I had gotten used to the rape ordeals, that l was now cooperating with him. However around 2018, l asked my friend if his father was having sex with him, since my father always had his ways with me,” she narrated.
The minor says her friend advised her to seek help from her teachers who would assist in reporting the case.
At the time she was asked to report the case, she had become five months pregnant.
“The headteacher at Mary Cliff Primary school, Pamela Andungosi had noticed that l was always in a sweater in a bid to hide my pregnancy. She called me into her office where I gathered courage and revealed the truth,” she narrated.
Yet again, when her parents noticed the pregnancy, she was asked to stay at home for two weeks without going to school. It is then that she had the third abortion.
“I was taken to the same clinic. The same doctor, this time, performed a different procedure that was more painful. In the evening l was asked to go back home and wait for the fetus to come out. I got into labour pains. At night my mother would insert a cooking stick in my mouth to assist me to push the baby while l sat in a basin. After over four hours, the fetus came out. My parents wrapped it in a polythene paper bag. l don’t know where it was taken to since l fainted,” she told the court.
After resuming her studies, the teacher noticed the girl was no longer pregnant. She summoned her for interrogation during which it was decided the matter be reported at Makupa Police Station.
The father was later arrested and charged with defilement and incest.
The charges read; on diverse dates between January 1 2017 and July 16 2019 at Kaa chonjo area in Mvita sub county within Mombasa County, Benard Anjera Manyasi defiled a child aged 14 years.
He was further slapped with a second count, of committing incest contrary to section 20(1) of the sexual offences Act No 3 of 2006.
He has since denied the charges, and he is out on a cash bail of Kshs 100,000
The minor who scored 199 marks in last year’s KCPE now claims that her life is in danger after she testified against her father.
Following her testimony in court, her father keeps on threatening that he would kill her.
“While my father was being held at Shimo La Tewa Gk prison, they kept on taunting me that l had sent the only breadwinner to prison. My older brother and aunty were invited to talk to me to request me to lie that the headteacher had asked me to frame my father,” she said.
The minor also claims that she was first defiled at the age of six by her immediate neighbour, but the matter was later withdrawn from court after her mother agreed on an out-of-court settlement.
She says she has now been chased away from home and now resides at the schools’ premises alongside the school’s night guard.
On her part, the school’s headteacher, says that efforts to have the minor placed under safe custody have not borne any fruits.
“I cannot give her accommodation because of the ongoing case where I am a witness. l have tried to contact the children’s office however, they have failed to show up and rescue the minor,” said the teacher.