justice for liz demoKenyans took to social media to celebrate the sentencing of rapists, earlier let free by only cutting grass at a police station even as the Director of Public Prosecutor (DPP) sought to have an enhanced sentence for the rapists.

In June 2013, the then 16-year-old victim, known by the pseudonym Liz, was reportedly attacked, beaten and then raped by six men as she returned from her grandfather’s funeral in Busia County. The gang dumped her, bleeding and unconscious, in a deep sewage ditch. 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.

When she reported it to the police, the punishment meted on the three rapists was cutting grass at the police station, a laughable punishment that led to worldwide condemnation. This worldwide outrage over the punishment prompted more than 1.8 million people to sign an online petition demanding justice. A campaign seeking to ensure to receive justice has finally bore fruits.

Lawyer Kimberly Brown, from the campaign group Equality Now, which supported the schoolgirl remarked

“today’s sentencing is sure to have a ripple effect across the nation, and hopefully the region at large.”

 

 

      Kenyans did not just look at the sentencing as justice for Liz but also a win for women rights.

Some are suggesting that the rapists should also be charged with attempted murder.

It is a call, the DPP could be considering as he seeks to harsher sentencing for the rapists