Police officers in Sigor, Pokot Central Sub County have launched a search for a group of ten men who assaulted a 12 year old girl after she refused to be married to an old man.
The girl who was thoroughly beaten and bruised is at Kapenguria Children Protection Unit as police officer’s search for the men including her father who allegedly beat the girl on Wednesday last week.
Speaking to the press, one of the police officers based at Marich police station Abdi Ibra said the girl walked all the way from Lami Nyeusi and reached at the police station on Thursday and upon interrogation she said she had escaped the racket of ten men who had tried to marry her off.
Abdi said the girl named Sharon was living with his father after her mother died and the father has never bothered taking her to school.
He added that the suitor approached Sharon’s father requesting to marry her off and he paid 10 cows as dowry payment.
“On Wednesday a group of men came to Sharon’s home and they forcefully took her beating her to accept the marriage.” He said.
He said the girl accepted to be married off after she had been assaulted and was taken to Kambi Karaya at night where the suitor was so that she can not know the route to come back home.
Abdi narrated that upon reaching at the suitor’s home she was under tight security so that she can not run away.
“The group had decided to make merry after successfully marrying off the girl. According to Sharon she said she was keenly waiting for the men to be drunk that’s when she got an opportunity to slip off from their hands,” he added
Abdi noted that the girl walked through the night and reached at Marich police station at 9.00 am where police officers took her to Sigor Sub County hospital where she was treated.
He said her elder brother also supported her father to marry her off.
“Immediately we rushed to the suitor’s home but unfortunately we found they had already run away. We are searching for the culprits,” he said.
Abdi said the father, the brother, the suitor and other men ran away into hiding after the incident as they left their homes deserted.
Sigor OCPD Bamfort Surwa said the father to the victim who is known as Lomosi Komolimuna is being searched together with the other culprits.
He said the girl was thoroughly beaten and she was supposed to undergo female genital mutilation before being married off.
