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Issue 00498 |
December 8 - 14, 2007 |
issn 0856 - 9135 |
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Front Page 2 |
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Case of young girl killed after refusing arranged
marriage by Valentine Marc Nkwame Suspects who beat to death a twelve-year old girl, who had refused to be married to a 35 year-old man are reported to be still at large. The Ngorongoro acting district director Masegeri Trurai, said the late girl’s uncle is however in custody. The girl’s uncle, who was her guardian, has been arrested and is currently in custody awaiting the arrest of other accomplices. The police in Loliondo have also confirmed. Sooi Sadira the twelve year old girl, who was a resident of Soitsambu village of Loliondo, in Ngorongoro district, was supposed to marry one Parmwere Sepere , aged 35 years ,in a marital arrangement in May 2006. When she refused, she was beaten to death by a mob. Masegeri Trurai said the men who beat the girl to death later fled to Kenya, together with her guardian, but the latter recently came back and was arrested promptly. However, the other young men are said to be still at large, either in Kenya, or somewhere else, hiding. Sadira Kerembu the 65 year-old guardian, who the girl used to call ‘father’ is said to have orchestrated the marriage (and the beating that followed), according to the neighbors, the old man stood to gain a number of livestock in form of dowry, from the potential husband. Tearful Sooi Sadira was sent to her 'husband-to-be' ready to start the new role of being a house wife aged only 12 years old, a development which scared the child. Sources revealed that the girl spent that night at Sepere's house. Other reports have it that, the girl had actually spent a few months at the man's house not knowing what to do and avoiding to go to bed with her forced husband , who later got angry and forced her onto a 'painful' marital act . On the following day, the girl fled from her husband's house claiming, amid tears, that the night 'ordeal' was too painful for her to bear. She returned to her father's house where she was received with rebukes and scolds. The father ordered Sooi to either 'go back' to her 'husband' or face a thorough beating. As it happened, Sooi would rather endure her father's beating than the painful experience she underwent on her first marital night. However, the father decided to apply an even more stringent measure onto her 'insolent' daughter. He reportedly summoned a team of youths, armed with flexible sticks and told them to 'discipline' the girl. The youths, tied both the girl's arms and legs, before proceeding to whip her thoroughly using flexible, yet firm sticks known in Maasai language as 'Njibi-Njibi!'. In Maasai community when an elder (Laigwanan) has ordered something to be done, nobody but especially women are supposed to oppose it, due to that, the girl's mother just wept on as she watched her daughter undergoing an extremely painful ordeal which left the girl bleeding all over. Her tormentors, following orders from the girl's father then poured cattle urine, mixed with caustic soda all over the girl's body. It wasn't clear whether this was to serve as further punishment or was the traditional method of healing wounds but whatever that was, it proved to be extremely painful. As soon as her limbs were freed from the tight ropes, Sooi reportedly asked for water to drink. She simply took the first sip and passed away. Again the girl's death like so many others in the past would have just been treated like an 'accident' which occurred during the alleged administration of 'punishment.' However, this time some enlightened villagers decided to breach the tradition norms and secretly went to report the matter to the Loliondo police station. As soon as the word went round that the police were getting involved, the girl's father, Sadira Kerembu, the jilted suitor, Parmwere Sepere and the young men who allegedly beat up the girl to her death, fled into Kenya through Serengeti and Maasai Mara. The father however made the mistake of trying to return and was recently arrested. He is still in custody, while the search of other killers goes on.
Commenting after the incident last year, Ms Manyara Karya
who works with the Pastoral Women Council (PWC) based at the Soitsambu
village, explains that recent studies have revealed that at least three
girls run away from their homes in the area, each day in effort to
escape the wrath of arranged marriages, some of which would even involve
very old men as 'husbands-to-be!' |
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