Her injuries were so severe, she is no longer able to work, clean or even look after herself.
Subjected to a brutal gang rape, her suffering is far from over after being left with brain injuries so serious, her sister, also a gang rape survivor, has to help her use a toilet.
Then there’s another story — a man now in his 80s, whose two daughters were gang-raped in front of him.
The gang ordered him to take part, and when he refused, he was subjected to the same brutal treatment.
More than eight years after violence engulfed Kenya in the aftermath of the December 2007 elections, hundreds of rape survivors are still waiting for help.
These men, women and children are the forgotten survivors of the brutal violence that was worsened by the Kenyan government’s failure to provide medical care, psychosocial support, monetary compensation and other redress.
Their horrific stories form part of a new Human Rights Watch report, “‘I Just Sit and Wait to Die’: Reparations for Survivors of Kenya’s 2007-2008 Post-Election Sexual Violence.”
The 104-page report is based on interviews with 163 women and girls, nine male survivors, and witnesses to rape or other sexual violence in the post-election period.
It also calls on the Kenyan government to act to help, fast.
But for people like the father who lost his daughters, the damage has already been done.
His horror began when a group of men came and accused him of taking away their wealth — and for that, they were going to teach him a lesson.
“They beat and raped both my daughters; so many of them,” he told Human Rights Watch.
“Then they told me to rape my children. I refused.”
They beat him severely, breaking his chin and cracking his skull.
“They did a very bad thing to me,” he said.
“They made me their wife; they made me a homosexual. They removed all my clothes and [left] with them.”
His daughters survived the initial rape but later died from their injuries, one after being infected with HIV, the other after being shot with a poisoned arrow.
Another rape survivor told of her brutal experience, which left her so badly injured, she is in constant pain and is now incontinent.
“I go to the dispensary for treatment but I am not seeing any improvement,” she said.
“They give me painkillers and tell me the urine will stop. I haven’t gone to a big hospital because I don’t have money. I have so much shame. I feel hopeless. I just sit and wait to die.”
Another survivor suffered traumatic fistula, an injury that often causes urine and feces leakage, and still has a leg injury and back pain following her brutal gang rape.
“I was raped by five men — they were beating me, pulling my legs apart,” she said.
“I got so hurt. I have a problem controlling urine. I am so ashamed.”
In its report, HRW said survivors are left suffering with devastating physical and psychological conditions, as well as poverty and social exclusion.
The government recently promised reparations, which should be designed in consultation with survivors of sexual violence to ensure their full inclusion in all programs, but HRW said many survivors have not yet received help.
Senior Africa women’s rights researcher at Human Rights Watch Agnes Odhiambo said she was shocked to find how many survivors are sick, living in poverty and stigmatized, ignored, and often rejected instead of helped by the government.
Violence erupted after election
Kenya erupted in violence after the disputed presidential election in 2007, which saw a spate of ethnic killings and reprisals by supporters of both ruling and opposition parties and excessive force by police in crackdowns on protesters.
The violence left 1,133 people dead and displaced 600,000 others. Officials say at least 900 cases of sexual violence occurred, but HRW say this is most likely an underestimate.
According to its report, violence was widespread and not limited to women and girls, with boys and men also suffering.
HRW researchers found many of the people they interviewed had been brutally raped often by more than four attackers and in some cases up to 10.
Disturbingly, it also found women said they were penetrated with guns, sticks, bottles and other objects.
Of those women who reported rape, 37 had babies born out of the attacks and have faced discrimination and lack of birth certificates for the children as the fathers are often unknown.
The brutality was also dished out to men and boys, with some raped or forcibly circumcised or castrated.
Attackers included members of Kenya’s security forces as well as civilians and militia groups.
HRW said few prosecutions have taken place, while findings from an investigation into police misconduct, including sexual abuse, during the post-election violence have never been made public.
It said the Kenyan government had provided limited compensation to people who were displaced or lost property, providing some money, housing and land, but survivors of rape and other sexual violence have largely been excluded.
“The Kenyan government has shirked its responsibilities toward the post-election victims of sexual violence,” Odhiambo said.
“It is crucial for the government to carefully plan and deliver reparations for these victims to alleviate their suffering.”