Fatuma’s case spurs demand to expose domestic violence
Friday January 8, 2016
Fatuma was lucky to survive and in got airlifted to Nairobi for emergency treatment/FILE
Whereas Gender Based Violence has been a major concern in Kenya, the attack on a 32 year-old woman in Northern Kenya still came as a shocker to anyone who saw a photo showing a long knife deeply lodged in her cheek.
But listening to leaders from Wajir County on Friday, the case of Fatuma Ibrahim is not isolated.
Attacks by men on their wives occur daily but the community seems to have accepted it as a way of life.
Fatuma was lucky to survive and in got airlifted to Nairobi for emergency treatment.
But dozens of other women are not as lucky.
Some die in silence while others live with life time injuries inflicted on them by their husbands.
It is a story that the leaders in the area are not shy to talk about.
Wajir First Lady Rukia Abdinassir and Fatuma Ibrahim Ali who is a Member of Parliament in Wajir County complained that gender based violence against women in their area was high.
“This lady (Fatuma) is fortunate because her case has been reported. There are thousands and thousands of cases that are not reported,” the MP complained.
Hiding behind culture to commit serious crimes, they said, should not be allowed to continue as has been the case.
“I think because of our culture community, these things happen but we always put them under the carpet.”
It is always settled through the Maslah (through the elders),” the First Lady said.
The two urged law enforcers to ensure that the man who attacked Fatuma is not spared as she alleged that the suspect was already pretending to be mentally ill.
The MP also alleged that attempts had been made to cover up the attack on Fatuma.
But because the situation was delicate and news had spread beyond North Eastern, there were no means of covering it up.
Fatuma’s suffering and her survival by sheer luck also brought into focus the controversial headache of providing quality services across Kenya’s 47 counties.
According to Fatuma (MP), Wajir District Hospital is a Level 4 health centre which does not have sufficient equipment and expertise to handle sensitive cases such as Fatuma’s.
Fatuma was attacked at around 2am but 14 hours later she still had the knife lodged in her face.
She had to travel for over 300 kilometres from her village to access the nearest dispensary.
The MP urged the national and local government to extend health services nearer to the people and equip them to save lives and reduce suffering.
The suspect, who is Fatuma’s husband, is expected to appear for the mention of the case on Jan 13 following an application by the prosecution.
Acting Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Nicholas Mutuku explained that the office asked the suspect to be held in custody to allow police to conduct investigations.
According to Mutuku, the evidence of the victim was important and it was expected that by the time the case will be mentioned, Fatuma will have recorded her evidence.
He said the prosecution is likely to press charges of attempted murder and offence of causing grievous harm.
Dr. Rono confirmed that Fatuma was out of danger and that he expected that she would be discharged from hospital in the next five days.
However, he said she could not receive any visitors till next week when he hopes she can speak without difficulties.
Fatuma was airlifted from Wajir County on Thursday following a social media notice that caught the attention of AMREF Kenya.
Her surgery required a team effort of five doctors who took one hour to remove the 4 inch Somali knife from her right check.
