Alarm over rising cases of GBV in Machakos

Cases of gender-based violence (GBV) targeting elderly women and teenage girls in Machakos County are increasingly on the rise, leaving judicial officers in the county grappling to find solutions.

Wamunyu Court Senior Resident Magistrate Eugene Pascal revealed that women over the age of 70 are facing sexual violence, including rape.

Even more troubling is the societal pressure placed on victims to withdraw their cases once they reach court.

Speaking in Matuu during a stakeholder forum that brought together court users, human rights advocates, survivors, and other groups, Pascal noted that victims often arrive in court visibly traumatised, bearing emotional and physical scars.

However, due to community pressure, many are forced to abandon formal legal proceedings and resolve matters through informal systems—commonly referred to as “kangaroo courts”- warning that this undermines public trust and weakens the fight against GBV.

“Most people, especially those affected, have no easy access to legal justice because of poverty, since they cannot pay lawyers, especially victims of defilement. If you have issues as a couple, please ensure you try to solve them instead of avoiding each other. The silence often leads to these attacks because of the unresolved underlying issues,” Pascal advised.

Pascal also highlighted the challenges faced by victims under the age of 18, who struggle to access justice due to lengthy legal procedures.

He proposed a law allowing child victims to give testimony only once to police via recorded video, rather than repeating their accounts in hospitals and courts, a process he said deepens their trauma.

According to him, many victims fail to obtain justice because they relocate with their parents to remote areas and cut off communication. Currently, he is handling fifteen such cases at Wamunyu Court.

During the event, parents of victims have also accused police of delaying investigations.

One survivor, Betty Kavisa, shared that she fled her marriage after her husband shot her. She survived thanks to quick medical intervention and now longs to reunite with her child, whom her husband took.

“We were living in Garissa, and one day my husband just woke up, attacked and shot me in the arm. He then took me to the hospital, and because I was young, I took it lightly, and we were back together. After pregnancy, we had a disagreement and parted ways. I went to live with my parents, and when I got a job in Saudi Arabia, he came and took my child and disappeared,” she said.

Another survivor, Jackline Mwende—who made headlines nine years ago after being brutally attacked by her husband—urged victims to report abuse promptly.

Mwala Sub-county children’s officer Edward Nyabala, on his part, stated that GBV cases have surged in the area, largely because victims are unaware of where to report.

“We have come here to ensure we plead with the people and victims to report these cases, especially the sexual violence, because it has led to increased teenage pregnancies. We want to urge those affected because increased stigma has led to many victims failing to report,” he noted.

Machakos County Woman Representative Joyce Kamene Kasimbi expressed outrage over a recent incident in which a Form Three girl was raped by two men on her way to school.

She lamented that no arrests have been made and criticised police for dragging their feet in the investigation.