Wangari, 45, spoke to Capital FM News on Tuesday, as the world commemorated the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, where she narrated her terrifying 14 days at hands of ruthless police officers at Karatina Police station/MOSES MUOKI
NAIROBI, Kenya, Jun 26 – It lasted for 336 hours.
Some 18 years after the incident, her memories remain vivid and the pain is still raw.
The mother of one was beaten, forced to strip naked and as if that was not enough, the men who are supposed to enforce the law – police officers – inserted a bottle in her private parts and as a result, she has a bleeding problem to date.
Her uterus was extensively damaged and up to now, she only clings onto hope that one day, she shall be able to give birth to another child.
And though she has gathered enough courage to speak out openly and is no longer interested in concealing her identity, Lisa Wangari is not healed.
“My son became mentally challenged after my incident. He could not hold anymore imagining the pain his mother underwent,” she says.
But she wonders, “Will I ever give birth to another child?”
Wangari says, June 27, 2001 will remain her darkest day under the sun.
Wangari, 45, spoke to Capital FM News on Tuesday, as the world commemorated the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, where she narrated her terrifying 14 days at hands of ruthless police officers at Karatina Police station.
“Flying Squad Officers came to my house looking for another lady whom we shared names. Despite explaining to them I was not the lady they were insisting I was, the ruthless officers proceeded to arrest me,” she recalled.
Inside the police cells, a lot happened, as she narrated.
“I was forced to strip naked, they poured cold water on me and then they tied my hands and legs. They then started whipping me all over.
“They were more infuriated because I did not say what they wanted to hear.”
It is at this point that some officers decided to insert a bottle in my private parts…beatings continued for the 14 days I was in custody.”
The suspect police officers were pursuing owned a machine to print fake currencies.
“But that was not me,” she says, “and I do not know her.”
The officers were to later learn that they had the wrong person in custody and she was released.
First forward, Wangari sued the state for torture, seven years after the incident.
Luckily for her, she had medical reports and other supporting evidence.
Then, one could only either sues the State or the Inspector General of police and not the specific perpetrators like it is the case nowadays.
In 2013, the court awarded her Sh9 million, out of which she has only been paid Sh5.4 million.
And even as she pursues the government to release the remaining cash, her lawyer is demanding Sh4 million, despite having offered pro-bono services.
“He has been threatening me and even vowing to frustrate the process until I agree to part with the Sh4 million,” she says.
But the court says the lawyer should be paid Sh1 million for the services rendered.
“The lawyer was seconded to me by the Independent Medico Legal Unit but later denounced them. Luckily, IMLU followed it up,” she revealed.
Her ordeal is not different from that of hundreds of victims across the country who gathered at a city hotel to commemorate the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture.
The day is commemorated annually on June 26 to speak out against the crime of torture and to honor and support victims and survivors throughout the world.
Tuesday’s event in Kenya was organised by the Independent Medico- Legal Unit, a lobby group offering help to victim of torture.
Peter Kiama, IMLU Executive Director identifies with Wangari’s challenges and that of tens of others they are directly dealing with.
Delays by the government to compensate victims of torture even after court rulings remains a major impediment to justice delivery, he says.
“The new face of torture is poverty,” he says.
Some of the victims under IMLU, Kiama says have waited for more than five years “yet they continue to suffer psychological trauma, they continue to require medical support.”
“We continue to support them as they await the payments of the court awards. They payment of court awards has become very frustrating for victims of torture.”
After the court awards an amount, he regretted that a victim like Wangari has to incur extra expenses to file the papers to the Attorney General or to go back to court to convince the relevant ministry to pay.
“Some of these victims live in very poor conditions and cannot afford,” he said.
He has urged the government and specifically the Ministry of Interior to expedite the process of making the paying the victims, what they have been awarded by courts.
This may ease their pain, to some extent.
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