Atieno* received a call from her daughter’s teachers, asking her to rush to school.

On arrival, she was told that her 16-year-old daughter Nekesa*, was sick with a sexually transmitted infection (STI) that had left her with grotesque wounds in her private parts.

“The person who defiled her is a preacher,” says Mary Makokha, a women’s rights activist who is currently hosting Nekesa for her safety. 

The girl was defiled while living with the preacher's family and performing household chores since the pastor’s wife was nursing a fractured leg. 

“We are worshippers at the church. When the pastor’s wife had the accident, many of us visited her in the hospital. She asked if people could help find a young lady who could help with domestic chores back at home,” Atieno says.

Nekesa, having struck a rapport with the preacher’s wife, offered to help. Atieno did not object since she did not have any reason to fear for her daughter.

Only to learn later that the ‘man of God’ - whom some in the congregation refer to as 'prophet' – had defiled her daughter. 

With the help of Ms Makokha, Atieno reported to the authorities. The pastor was arrested and a court case was instituted against him. At the time of filing this story, he had been released on a Sh100,000 bond.

What happened to Nekesa is not shocking. Sometime last year, an MCA appeared in court, his face concealed behind a hood and a mask, accused of defiling a 14-year-old girl. 

Sources told The Sunday Standard that the  MCA had a week-long rendezvous with the 14-year-old at different hotels and lodgings in Busia, Bungoma and Kakamega towns.

Still, in 2023, the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) picked up a case involving a police officer stationed at Aterait police station in Teso South, who was accused of raping a 21-year-old woman.

Ms Makokha is the founder of the Rural Education and Economic Empowerment Program (REEEP) – a local non-profit organisation championing women’s and girls’ rights. 

“Rape is rampant in Busia. Since 1998, when we began handling gender-based violence (GBV) cases, we have recorded close to 14,000 cases of rape. And these are just the ones we got informed about,” she says.

During this interview towards the end of July, Makokha received distressing news of two grandmothers in Nambogoto, Funyula sub-county, who had been silent victims of a man from within the village.

Makokha says no woman is safe in Busia: if not an octogenarian then it is a three-year-old girl – like is the case of Nasike* from Butula.

“The incident took place on April 12. I had gone to the market. I received a frantic call from my mother; she was asking me to head back home immediately.

“She said my daughter had been injured. I kept asking what kind of injury but she wouldn’t budge. I asked, is she burnt? Did she have a bad fall? My mother only told me to head home quickly,” says Nasike*, 23, mother to the defiled toddler.

Even before she could go to the place where the young girl was being attended to, she heard her daughter's screams and knew right away something terrible had happened.

“She was bleeding badly. She had been defiled by someone and dumped in the bushes.”

So extensive was the damage that the little girl underwent four corrective surgeries, with more expected to follow.

Makokha has made it her life’s mission to have every rape or defilement suspect taken through the justice system and (if proven guilty) made to pay for their crimes.

REEEP, working with international not-for-profit Equality Now, is providing psychotherapy counselling, legal advice, victim protection and reporting of cases to authorities.

Jean-Paul Murunga is the Programme Officer at Equality Now.

“Rape and defilement are crimes under Kenyan law that are punishable by at least 10 years in prison and all rapists must face the full force of the law," he says.

Other recent cases of rape in Busia include a brother defiling his half-sister in Ikonzo village, a neighbour defiling a four-year-old in Burumba area, a young woman raped by six men in Butula, and a seven-year-old girl's body found dumped. She is suspected to have been defiled before her death in Bukhalalire.

According to the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS) 2022, Busia is not even among the top five counties with the highest rate of sexual violence against women aged 15 to 49.

Makokha says many rape and defilement cases are resolved hastily via kangaroo courts presided over by selfish village elders.

“They will ask the rapist to give a cow or a goat, or money as recompense for their action. Afterwards, life goes on like nothing happened. We are fighting to put a complete stop to these unjust methods of solving SGBV,” Makokha states.

According to Kenya Health Information System (KHIS) from January to June this year, already 223 females in Busia county have been to hospitals after rape or defilement.

Makokha blames the high rape incidence rate on patriarchy.

“A female in our culture is a second-class citizen. Men look at women as things that add pleasure or make their lives easier. Culture has also taught women that it is okay for a man to sexually harass them. Married women expect husbands to beat them when they ‘misbehave’.

“Thus, the cases being reported are only the tip of the iceberg as  many SGBV survivors do not even have the understanding that a crime has been committed against them.”

On defilement targeting toddlers, she suspects rituals.

A resident of Butula who did not want to be named said, “That could be ritualistic. I have heard rumours that an HIV-positive man could be healed if they have sex with a virgin.”

Chief Magistrate Edna Nyalote says besides patriarchal culture, poverty levels are high; making it easy for men to lure and attack girls and women.

“We can’t also rule out parental carelessness. Some parents are not being deliberately present in their children’s lives. It is very common for children to attend 'disco matanga' (local night vigil discos at bereaved homes). They become extremely exposed to harm,” she says.

Makokha says she, together with other activists, has been calling on the Busia County Government to set up a safe house for victims of gender-based violence, but this has not been actualised. By Gardy Chacha, The Standard

“We need the safe house to host, counsel and give legal advice to victims and survivors. Some of the victims stand zero chance of ever getting justice if left in the same environment that left them exposed to abuse,” says Makokha.

The cabinet recently approved US$150 million to construct a 5 Megawatts (MW) solar plant in Juba. Is this gross incompetence, complicity in corruption and bribery, or money laundering? I think it’s all of these.

South Sudan’s national cabinet recently approved a US$150 million solar project for Juba, the capital city. On 2 August, the Minister of Energy and Dams, Peter Marcello, presented a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between his office and an unknown company called TPA Company Limited. The project was deliberated and passed unanimously by the national cabinet without opposition.

This unanimous approval should raise alarms, as it suggests that South Sudan’s cabinet is grossly incompetent, complicit in corruption and bribery, and possibly involved in money laundering as well. The reality is that this project should only cost around USD 3.96 million—so who is pocketing the remaining USD 146 million?

According to Deputy Information Minister Dr. Jacob Maiju Korok, the concessional loan for this project has a maturity of 20 years with a five-year grace period. On a different matter, Korok disclosed that the Energy Minister also requested the Finance Minister to pay USD 30 million to an Egyptian company, El Sewedy Electric, following a court ruling.

The company had been contracted to build a 20 MW solar power plant in Nesitu, Juba County, the first of its kind, at USD 50 million. Korok explained that the company had sued the Government of the Republic of South Sudan at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes in the U.S. due to the latter’s failure to complete the final payment, despite an initial advance payment of USD 20 million. For the Nesitu solar project, the cost per MW was USD 2.5 million.

“The whole amount was actually fifty million dollars for the project, but the government managed to pay twenty million, and the remaining is thirty million dollars.” Dr. Korok told reporters on 2 August, and added: “So, the company decided to take the government to the court of arbitration in the U.S., and Minister Marcello asked the Ministry of Finance to handle this issue before even moving further to the court.”

Given that the cost of building a 5 MW solar farm should range between USD 3.96 million and 5 million, the fact that South Sudan is paying USD 150 million is nothing short of criminal. For context, Amea Power recently announced a 24 MW solar project in Uganda, costing only USD 19 million, or roughly USD 791,666 per MW, which is drastically less than the USD 30 million per MW that South Sudan is paying.

The project is owned by Amea Power, a Dubai-based developer, unlike South Sudan’s solar projects, which require government funding and are constructed by private companies that are not taking on any financial risk. If the money allocated for this project were used properly, it could generate 189 MW and impact 1.44 million people (or 442,500 households).

Furthermore, in February 2024, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), in partnership with Social Investment Managers and Advisors LLC (SIMA Funds) and other financiers, launched a USD 150 million solar green bond to finance productive-use solar projects across Africa. The bond is aimed at funding over 220 MW of solar energy projects on the continent. This means the cost is USD 681,818 per MW which again is significantly lower than Uganda’s solar project.

This USD 150 million solar project highlights the deep corruption that continues to plague South Sudan’s government. There is no legitimate reason to secure a loan or award contracts to companies; ministries should implement projects themselves instead of outsourcing them.

If the cabinet were not engaging in corruption or bribery, it would have at least scrutinized why 1 MW would cost USD 30 million, while the 20 MW solar plant in Nesitu only cost USD 2.5 million per MW. How is the USD 150 million solar project costing 12 times more than the Nesitu solar project and 38 times more than Uganda’s solar project? The problem is not just that the government fails to understand the contracts they sign with companies, but also that corruption and bribery lead to unfavorable terms and conditions that are not in South Sudan’s interest.

It is evident that South Sudan’s government is using essential projects as money laundering schemes, diverting public resources to their own pockets and indebting the country further while enriching themselves at the expense of the people. This USD 150 million solar project is a textbook case of corruption and mismanagement. The true winners are not the citizens who desperately need reliable electricity, but rather the corrupt officials who approved it and the company behind it. By ATAK NGOR, Radio Tamazuj

The writer, Atak Ngor, can be reached via X, formerly Twitter.

Somalia's Civil Aviation Authority (SCAA) has issued a stern warning to Ethiopian Airlines (ET), threatening to ban the airline from operating within Somali airspace. The SCAA accused Africa's largest carrier of disregarding Somalia's sovereignty in an ongoing dispute with Ethiopia.

In a statement released via Somali state media, the aviation authority criticized ET for failing to address previous complaints related to "sovereignty issues."

According to the SCAA, the airline's recent decision to remove specific Somali destinations from its listings, leaving only airport codes, has further aggravated the situation. The SCAA cautioned that if the matter is not resolved by August 23, all ET flights to Somalia could be suspended. 

This development is part of a broader tension between Somalia and Ethiopia, fuelled by Somalia's opposition to a port access agreement between Ethiopia and the self-declared independent region of Somaliland, which Mogadishu considers illegal.

Amidst these tensions, Türkiye has been mediating negotiations between the two nations and has reported significant progress towards a peaceful resolution.

Ethiopian Airlines' Somalian Destinations

Ethiopian Airlines conducts flights to Somaliland's capital, Hargeisa, Garowe in Puntland, and Mogadishu in Somalia. However, its website includes Hargeisa without a country identification and returns no results for Somaliland, although Mogadishu is clearly defined as being in Somalia.

Specifically, ET flies from Addis Ababa Bole International Airport (ADD) to Egal International Airport (HGA), which is an airport in Hargeisa, the capital of Somaliland, but has no flight scheduled for Bosaso Airport (BSA), also known as Bosaso International Airport, an airport in northern Somalia. 

The Ethiopian carrier also flies to General Mohamed Abshir Airport (GGR), an airport serving Garowe, the administrative capital of the autonomous Puntland region in northeastern Somalia, and can also reach Aden Adde International Airport (MGQ), formerly known as Mogadishu International Airport, an international airport serving Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia.

In its letter on Wednesday, Mogadishu’s aviation regulator said it had held several discussions with ET officials about the “violation of Somali sovereignty regarding destinations” that the carrier serves. The SCAA claimed it had also “received an increasing number of unacceptable complaints from the Somali public regarding their travel experiences with Ethiopian Airlines.”

“Any future recurrence, such as not properly identifying the destinations in Somalia, will result in suspension without further warning,” it added. The airline has 282 flights to Somalia scheduled for September 2024, according to Cirium Dioo data. By Helwing Villamizar, Airways News

This is a developing story.