The original sentence in 2013 sparked angry demonstrations across Nairobi, with more than 1.8 million people demanding justice after the gang rapists were told to cut grass as punishment/AFP
“Today’s sentencing is sure to have a ripple effect across the nation, and hopefully the region at large,” said lawyer Kimberly Brown, from the campaign group Equality Now, which supported the schoolgirl.
Worldwide outrage over the punishment prompted more than 1.8 million people to sign an online petition demanding justice.
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 western Kenya in June 2013.
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.
“The fact that Liz’s case took so long to reach this point – and still faced serious obstacles despite strong national and global support – illustrates the injustices that are still suffered by survivors,” Brown added.
“While Kenya boasts one of the most progressive legal and policy frameworks for addressing sexual violence, Liz’s case and countless others have revealed significant failures of local authorities to adequately address sexual violence.”
The case made global headlines after it emerged that three of the alleged rapists whom Liz identified were ordered by police to cut grass around the police station as punishment.
Other suspects are on the run, with the public prosecutor ordering they be “apprehended and brought to justice without further delay.”
Sentencing had been set for last Friday but was delayed after one of the men skipped bail and failed to turn up, but police arrested him over the weekend.
Rape is a serious problem in Kenya but is seldom taken seriously by the police, rights groups say.
“The sheer scale of sexual violence in schools, communities and its general acceptability in society is astounding,” Brown added.
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