Children betrayed twice: Justice that remains out of reach

For a child who has been defiled, justice should begin the moment a case is reported. But in Busia County, that journey often stretches from months into years.

Some cases have dragged on for more than five years, slowed by repeated adjournments, missing files, and claims of intimidation, despite repeated calls for children’s matters to be fast-tracked.

Citizen TV has run an investigation on the story families who say they have been betrayed twice first by the accused, and then by a justice system they believe has failed to protect them.

Malaika, not her real name, walks hand in hand with her father. For four years, this has been their routine, a long walk through the corridors of justice, her steps seeking justice after her innocence was taken away from her when she was only 4 years

“That was in 2022 on 26th of October I got the information in the middle of the night where I was working and I quickly rushed back home, they stay a distance from where I work in Busia town so when I got there I found that my daughter had been defiled and the process, the mother had taken her to hospital, a report was made and the court process began,” said Malaika’s father.

The man behind the act was 40-years-old then, a man they knew and trusted, a neighbor and a family man too.

“That case was book in court one and the perpetrator was arrested but then the perpetrator struggled and removed the case from court one to court two then, and he was released on bond,” Malaika’s father added.

The family's pursuit of justice and accountability for the man accused of the crime would soon descend into years of uncertainty, a relentless cycle of adjournments, missing court files, and repeated postponements that left justice seemingly out of reach

“This case continued throughout 2023 up to December, the child had not testified and even the witness had not witnesses, we had two witnesses and one was bribed and did not testify so the first witness who was the mother was also on the push, one year later she had not testified,” he added.

Frustrated by years of delays, Malaika's father took the unusual step of writing directly to the court, requesting that the case be transferred from a court that several families we spoke to described as a source of repeated frustrations and delays.

 Eventually, his request was granted, and Malaika's case was moved to a different court.

“In court 4 hardly 3months after the case began, the child and the witness were given an opportunity to testify so we were happy that things were moving on but then it continued the usual problem of postponement came in again, the whole of 2024 after march the doctor and the police had not testified,” he said.

He says they have been to court more than 30 times.

“Then later he was found to have a case to answer that was in ovember 2025, so a date was set for hearing because the perpetrator claimed that he would defend himself so come January 2026, the magistrate was transferred so the case was taken back to court 2 now with a new magistrate,” he said.

Malaika was defiled on the night of October 26, 2022, the same night a medical examination was conducted, the case was reported to police and fearing mob justice, the suspect surrendered himself to authorities.

In court, the accused was initially granted a cash bail of Ksh.500,000 or a bond of Ksh.1million with surety.

Unable to meet the conditions, he remained in custody. However, the family claims he later used his influence to have the case transferred to a different court, where the bond terms were reviewed.

Within two months, he was released.

More than a year after the case was filed, the child and a key witness finally took the stand. It would take until June 2025, almost three years for the examining doctor and the investigating police officer to testify.

Their testimonies culminated in a ruling in November 2025 that the accused had a case to answer. A hearing date was scheduled for January 2026, raising hopes that the matter would finally move forward.

But those hopes were short-lived, the magistrate handling the case was transferred, forcing a transfer of the matter to a different court.

The first mention before the new court took place on march 30, 2026, a second mention was scheduled for April 15, but the proceedings could not continue after the court file reportedly went missing.

The file would later resurface, and another mention date fixed for June 8, yet in another setback, the file was once again nowhere to be found.

The matter was postponed to June 22, 2026, when a hearing date was eventually set for September 2026, after the accused informed the court that he would conduct his own defence.

In the quiet, hilly landscape of Teso in Busia county, another family has spent the last four years searching for justice for their daughter.

They say the abuse was carried out by a relative who lived nearby

Nanjala, a parent, said: “Mtoto akaenda kumkatia mahindi, kumkatia mahindi akampea shilingi kumi na avocado sasa mtoto kurudi akaniambia mama niko mchafu nikamuuliza uko mchafu aje, kuangalia mtoto nguo yote ni sperms peke yake.”

A report was filed, and the child was immediately placed on post-exposure prophylaxis medication, as the suspect is known to be living with HIV and on treatment.

The family later handed him over to police, and he was subsequently taken to court.

“Mweneyewe alikuwa amekubali amefanya kitendo kama hio, kufika kotini amekataa sio story ya rape ni maneno ya shamba na ilikuwa rape case sasa tukienda, tunaendanga kila siku tunapelekwa hivi hivi hakuna ukweli sasa tumebaki hatujaona haki yeyote,” Nanjala added.

For four years, they have traveled miles away to attend court cases, but the case never quite takes off.

“Tumeenda karinu miaka tatu ama nne, tukiendanga tu wanatuita na hakuna kuongea nafika huko ati leo wamebadilisha ati turudi tena hivo hivo tu, pikipiki, unaamka asubuhi naacha kazi yako pengine untaka kulima kufanya nini, sasa hio pesa yangu hio mia tano si afadhali nipatie mtu anisadie kulima nipande chakula,” Nanjala said.

The hope for justice is fading not only for this family. Hundreds of kilometres away in southern busia, another family is watching time slip by.

The survivor, who was just 14 when she was allegedly raped in 2021, is now 19yrs old. The child born after the ordeal is already in school, yet the case remains unresolved in court.

“Vile tuliingia kotini hatukuwa na lawyer na kesi ilihairishwa juu alisema hakuwa najiskia vizuri na wakapeana tarehe nyingine, kutokea hapo kesi inahairishwa inahairishwa mpaka tarehe 15/10/2024 ndio tulipata nafasi ya kujieleza kotini,” Arnold, another parent, said.

Forced to flee her village because of stigma and alleged threats, the young woman now lives away from home, the child is with her grandparents, while the accused a government employee transferred to another workstation not far from the area continues to live freely as the wheels of justice turn slowly, 4 years later the investigating officer is yet to testify.

“Tumekaa bila kuskia chochote mpaka tarehe kumi na tisa mwezi wa nane 2025 ndio niliambiwa na askari natakikana kotini na twende na mtoto, tukaambiwa turudi huko 26th jan 2026 wakati tulienda tuliambiwa koti imehairishwa na wakapanga 26th march ambapo tulienda n ahata file haikusomwa,” Arnold added.

The multiple trips to court have taken a heavy toll on this family. At one point, the mother, her daughter, and her granddaughter travelled long distances for a DNA test after the accused denied paternity, despite the family believing there was sufficient evidence.

Months later, they are still waiting for the results. They say they have lost faith in the process and fear the results could be manipulated.

The family also claims they have received repeated threats from the accused, including on the day Citizen TV visited their home.

“Kesi hii tangu ianze imekuwa na majudge wanne, wa kwanza alisukuma akawacha, wa pili alishikilia mpaka mtoto akasikizwa, wa tatu hata hakuskiza alikuwa tu file inakuja, inasomwa inaenda na mpaka sasa saa hii imewekwa kwa judge mwingine wa nne,” Arnold added.

According to the Rural Education and Economic Enhancement Programme (REEP), a local organization in Busia county, the scale of the problem is staggering.

Since 1998, the organization says it has handled more than 14,000 defilement cases.

“There is a lot of interferences in courts in Busia, we have so many brokers, lawyers play around to destroy cases, like you get a case starts when it is almost concluded, the perpetrator changes the lawyer and the new lawyer says he wants to start the case afresh, two three years down the line, the perpetrator changes the lawyer, I have case that lawyers have been changed like 4 times, it is one of the old case,” said REEP founder Mary Makokha.

Fred Matata, the Chief Paralegal at REEP added:: “Ukora yenye inafanyika ni ya very high profile ambapo kama hauwezi kujua utafikiri ni kesi inadelay kumbe sio kesi inadelay ni watu wanacheza game, hio anaweza kuja na file icheleweshwe kufika kwa ODPP na wakati inaitwa kotini haiko, na wakati koti imemaliza wanaleta yeye analeta file maksudi.”

Despite repeated directives by the Chief Justice, Martha Koome, that cases involving children should be concluded within six months, in Busia, the wheels of justice appear to be turning backwards for children whose innocence was stolen.

Matata added: “Halafu kile kibaya kabisa ni wakati umefuatilia kesi imechukuwa course imefika sasa expert witness amabyo ni io na daktari, hio hakuna siku atabond daktari akuje kotini kutestify sasa hio ni game.”

“File iko kotini inaitwa lakini daktari hayuko na io hayuko anapeana file ipelekwe na mtu mwingine kwa sababu alikuambia hio kesi hamtashinda kwa sababu anataka nini achoke.”

“Like this case i am talking about, this case was in court those many years ago, this case was under mention for 4yrs until that magistrate was transferred and we wrote again to the ODPP and we were told if we can avail all the witnesses within one day,” Mary Makokha.

In 2021, 120 defilement cases were filed at Busia law courts, 94 have been concluded, while 26 remain pending.

In 2022, 127 cases were filed, 74 have been concluded, with 53 still pending. In 2023, 140 cases were filed, only 60 have been concluded, while 80 remain pending.

In 2024, 106 cases were filed, 46 have been concluded, leaving 60 still pending. In 2025, 64 cases were filed, 14 have been concluded, while 50 remain active.

So far this year, 41 defilement cases have been filed, and only one has been concluded.

These figures represent Busia law courts only. They exclude Malaba and Port Victoria law courts, both of which also handle sexual offence cases, meaning the county's overall caseload is significantly higher.

Linda Ndambiri, the Head of Children at ODPP, says that although the children act, 2022 does not prescribe a specific timeline for concluding children's cases, the law is unequivocal that such matters must be handled and concluded expeditiously.


“The judiciary also have come up with guidelines that we need to finalize children cases within six months so it’s within their performance even for us I think we have developed so many documents, guidelines to prosecutors to just tell them we need to finalize these cases on time because first of all a child’s memory they can forget, you also don’t want them to keep on repeating a traumatic event,” Ndambiri said.

According to Ndambiri, best practice requires a child survivor to testify within two weeks of the ordeal, but for many children, that remains far from reality, with some waiting more than a year before taking the witness stand.

“The national council of the administration of justice what they are trying to do is just try see how they can set up specialized children’s courts in all jurisdictions in all 47 counties because right now we have only two in Nairobi Milimani and Tononoka in Mombasa so all magistrates have been gazette as children’s magistrates but specialized courts,” Ndambiri said.

Different families we spoke to have different stories, but the pattern is strikingly similar.

“Ata mimi sasa sina imani sasa, nimeona nikama hawa watu kuna vile wananyanyasa sisi wananchi kwa sababu sasa nimeshughulika nimeshughulika kila kitu umefanya hakuna, hakuna tofauti, sasa nimeamua tu nimesema bora mtoto wangu akuwe mzima,” said Nanjala.

“The kind of feeling that I have always had is that the more it pains me, this very same way that it pained me when I had it the very first time and my first move then was that if I found him I would have killed him, and that pain is still there, so I have not given in searching for justice the right way, it is four years but i am still determined that the court should give me justice,” Malaika’s father said.

Our request to interview the chief justice in order to understand the gaps when it comes to children matters were not successful.

For families the questions remain unanswered not about what happened to their children but about who will ensure justice is no longer delayed.