From: Absalom Birai

Re:What a shame !

NEWS EXTRA

Woman's ordeal at the hands of political goons

Story by PHILO IKONYA
Publication Date: 9/12/2007

It was one of those days that are referred to as normal. You wake up in the morning feeling on top of the world knowing nothing could possibly go wrong.

[Flora Igoki Tera being consoled yesterday by Assistant Education minister Beth Mugo in her hospital bed at Nairobi Women’s Hospital.
Photo/ ANTHONY KAMAU]

But for Flora Igoki Tera, a female parliamentary aspirant, the word normal took on a different meaning when she decided to take a weekend off to visit her North Imenti rural home.

Having done a superb job among the female population during the campaigns for the referendum in 2005, Ms Tera knew that it was time one of their own took over the parliamentary seat come this year’s General Election.

Persistent caller

As she weeps in bed at Nairobi Women’s Hospital, Ms Tera recalls the events that culminated in her admission.

She remembers a persistent caller who kept on asking if she would be arriving on time for her usual schedule.

Not aware of the motive behind the calls, Ms Tera answered in the affirmative despite the driver of the Meru shuttle she had boarded inquiring why the caller was so impatient.

Finally arriving at about 8pm, the driver dropped Ms Tera at her usual stage for he is familiar with her.

As she walked from the main road towards her mother’s compound, an unfamiliar voice called from behind her but with familiar greetings, “Mama Mutethya Habari?” (How are you mama Mutethya) in reference to how mothers are greeted by use of the name of their children.

The next even more strange question was why she was walking so fast. By then she knew something was amiss because these people used her names familiarly although she didn’t recognise them.

In a flash of a second, she had been pinned down and someone was already at work shaving off her hair with a blunt object and sometimes tearing it off.

One man held her throat and she had problems breathing while the other was using thorns to scour her wrists before the dreaded words came from one of them; “if you scream we are going to rape you on your father’s grave”.

Stuffed into her mouth

A third man, who was giving orders then asked, “iko wapi ile kitu?” (“where is that stuff?”) The next thing Ms Tera smelt was human waste and before long, they had stuffed the waste, mixed with her hair, into her mouth and forced it down her throat.

As this happened blows rained on her head. It is at this point that she weeps as her mind turns to the events of the fateful day.

A neighbour’s dogs tried to come to her rescue but were restrained by a fence that they could not jump over prompting the assailants to ask how she expected the animals to help her from the other side.

She offered them money, her phone and all that she had but the group answered: “We do not need money, it is you that we want."

She was then ordered to walk back to the main road and board a car that they said was waiting for her. She somehow managed to stand up. Someone at the road saw her bleeding from the mouth and nose and started calling for help.

Ms Tera recalls seeing her sister and others coming to her aid. And she noticed a few things. One of her assailants was pretending to tie his shoelaces before vanishing while another whom she describes as fat, was pretending he was taking her to a car and get her to hospital.

She says she was unable to speak for about 10 minutes during which time she noticed her sister was buying the man’s trick.

She staggered to her sister’s car with the man asking which hospital they intended to take her. Her sister innocently told them Milimani in Meru where she was taken although she could not help feeling insecure.

It was now clear to her that an attempted carjacking two weeks ago near her home on the afternoon they buried her father’s uncle was an attempt on her life as well.

Ms Tera remembers how a man burnt her knuckles with a cigarette stub and remarked that not every meeting was political.

When this writer reached her at her hospital bed in Meru on learning of the sad event, Ms Tera was weeping.

Pained by the ordeal and her mother standing by her side, Ms Tera could only manage to call out the name of Jesus. With much pain and a broken disk, she could only manage to move with the help of nurses.

Her friends in Nairobi, through text messages and telephone calls, were promptly aware what had happened. The executive director of the Centre for Rights Education Awareness, Ms Ann Njogu, informed all civil society organisations and some officials travelled to Meru on Saturday night.

Ms Tera was transferred from the Meru hospital to Kenyatta National Hospital and later to Nairobi Women’s Hospital.

Though traumatised, Ms Tera says that the attack will not cow her and neither will it sap her courage.

She keeps repeating: “No retreat, no surrender; I do not fear those who can destroy the body but the one who can destroy my soul!”

Amid fellow women aspirants, she says she will struggle to the end. Chairperson of Maendeleo ya Wanawake Rukia Subow was among visitors comforting her.

Lawyer Ann Njogu says: “The OCS and DC, to whom I spoke, indicated they know who commits that kind of hooliganism and it is important to know why no step has been taken.”

She adds: “Villagers are longing to give evidence but no statements so far have been recorded.”