Homosexual rape is rife in prisons in Kenya and Zanzibar.
For the first time, victims talk about their experiences in a shocking indictment of neglect and violence.
It is a nightmare for anyone, anywhere, to find themselves in a police car on their way to prison.
But many think that in jail there is protection around the clock, not knowing that prison may be more dangerous than the life they left behind.
One man told the BBC he was raped within hours of the gates closing behind him at Kamiti Maximum Security Prison, where he was jailed for five years for robbery.
“They were fighting over me, they were fighting over who should get me first,” he said.
“I just had to wait until the fight was won and then be raped by the winners.”
Commonplace story
Another young man,(name withheld) was jailed for three years for the theft of a bicycle.
It was his first offence and within hours he had been gang raped.
“They took me to a cell – they were huge people and I was very little and young,” he said.
| Sometimes the person wants to show power, to have power over another prisoner Chena, prison leader in Zanzibar |
“They invited me to share their supper. I agreed, thinking they were good people. I did not know they had put sleeping pills in the food.
“After supper, I went into a very deep sleep. I was unconscious. That’s what they wanted – that’s when they raped me.” This kind of story is commonplace.
Male rape happens in many prisons around the world. What makes it different in East Africa is that attitudes to homosexuality in society generally mean that this terrible problem is never acknowledged, never spoken about, even by the victims.
It is denied by officials – and by society at large.
‘Sexual needs’
The deputy officer in charge of Kamiti Prison, Pite Nguguna, told the BBC there was no abuse at all there.
“We don’t have rape in prisons,” he said.
“We have never had a rape case reported while prisoners are serving their jail terms.
“Maybe there was an encounter with somebody, maybe, who was homosexual.
“But homosexuality itself is a very secretive kind of activity, so for the authorities it’s not known to us.”
So, plenty of proof on one side, and plenty of denial on the other.
Given that most African cultures do not entertain homosexuality, what else encourages rape in these African male prisons?
“Prisoners are just human beings,” said Emmanuel Wetangula, a lawyer in one of Kenya’s leading law firms.
“They do have sexual needs which they have to attend to. They do not get conjugal visits from their wives or girlfriends.”
‘Fresh’
Mr Wetangula knows the structure of prisons facilities in Kenya, and he is of the opinion that congestion in the prisons might be one of the reasons for the increase of rape in male prisons – since the warders cannot get proper access to all the cells in the prison.
He explained that the biggest problem is that prison conditions have various categories and cartels.
So when a new prisoner arrives, he is actually seen to be different from the rest of the prisoners – and deemed “fresh.”
“It commonly happens among the newcomers, the new entrants into prison,” he added.
Chena- a prison leader in a Zanzibar prison, and who has been in and out of jail several times for robbery.
‘Strong’
He told the BBC that there were a number of reasons why rape goes on.
“Sometimes it might be lust – plain sexual gratification,” he said.
“Sometimes the person wants to show power, to have power over another prisoner. Sometimes by raping a fellow prisoner, that person can make even the warders fear them.”
He added that this was the case with himself – although he denies he has actually been a rapist himself.
“They fear me,” he said.
“I might look small to you, but I am strong – very strong. I fear nobody.
“I can rape, I can do whatever I want to anybody, and no-one will dare question me.
“That is power.”
In certain instances, senior sergeants in charge of accommodation arrange, at a fee, to transfer a prisoner to a particular cell for sex. The inmates who arrange and pay for the transfer become the mende i.e the husband while the transferred prisoner is the mtoto, the wife. The mende provides for all the needs of the mtoto , who remains a sexual tool. George, a young boy in his late teens, was serving an eight-year jail term for armed robbery. One Saturday some inmates invited him to an evening meal of porridge and beans. Owing to starvation, the temptation was too great. He accepted. Little did he know that the meal was drugged. he ate and became intoxicated. In the night, he was repeatedly gang-sodomised. He bled profusely, until he was unconscious. At Kamiti, a warder is always right even when he tramples on a prisoner, who has no right. One Saturday afternoon, a condemned prisoner, Onkoba, was suffering from pneumonia.He insisted on staying in the sun a little longer than the warder was willing to allow. The warder blew the whistle and the alarm went off. Warders armed themselves with rungus, machetes, and spears and rushed to Condemn `G’, where Onkoba was heartlessly beaten, cut all over the body and left for dead.
i therefore appeal to the government to review current policies and their enforcements i the interest of human rights to make Kenyan prisons to be humane.
also watch the videos from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NF2ydxNwrZU
Zuhura .M.
Konshens, the dance-hall sensation is on his way to Kenya courtesy of Guiness. He will be the main act at the Guiness Evolution Party slated for April 12 at the KICC starting from 7PM.
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