This archive report was first published on 3 January 2020.
On December 31, a 16-year-old girl sneaked out of her home to attend a night party in Ratta. Her parents took her to the police station the next morning, hoping to discipline her. However, the officer at the OB table asked the parents to leave the girl behind to be locked up in the cell.
On January 1, the parents returned to the police station to pick her up, but the officer had allegedly taken the girl to his house, defiling her repeatedly before returning her to the cells in the wee hours of the morning.
The girl's mother said she found her daughter sobbing in the cell, and when she asked her what had happened, the girl disclosed the alleged defilement. The parents demanded that the girl be taken to the hospital immediately, but police officers allegedly connived with a private hospital in Vihiga County to doctored a report showing no defilement.
Yesterday, the parents stormed the police station, forcing the officers to accompany them to Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Hospital for examination. At the hospital, the parents revealed that the suspected defiler was among the officers who had dropped her off.
Security personnel at the hospital's main gate were instructed to block the police car from leaving, and the public attempted to eject the suspected officer from the vehicle. The officers called for reinforcement, and with the help of the hospital's Superintendent Peter Okoth, they drove out towards Kondele police station amid shouts and hooting from bodaboda riders.
County Police Commander Renson Lolmodol said the alleged defilement was reported at Ratta police station, but tests conducted by the private hospital in Vihiga had shown there had been no defilement. However, DNA tests on the suspect would need to be done to establish the truth, said Dr. Okoth.
