Lobby pushes for trauma care for victims as they seek justice

The traumatising events of 2013 that Penina Koome endured are still etched in her memory.

In February 2019, the High Court found former Ruaraka Police Station boss Nahashon Mutua guilty of killing Penina’s husband Martin Koome in 2013.

The journey to get justice for her husband has been long and despite the former police officer having been sentenced to death, her husband’s demise troubles her and the thought of it jolts her into confusion and anxiety.

World over, victims of crime see justice as an integral part of their healing process, yet expectations of justice are often not met.

Yesterday, she narrated how it has become difficult for her to move on despite the killer being put behind bars.

“I went through a lot of fear. I had to run and hide in the village,” she recalled at a Nairobi hotel where the International Justice Mission (IJM) unveiled a booklet on mental health and psychosocial support for victims and witnesses in the criminal justice system.

However, IJM and the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) went looking for her in the village and helped Peninah get the right lawyers. And assisted by her sister in-law she was able to file a case against the Mutua.

Despite appearing strong, Peninah had gone through several traumatic episodes due to this incident, which took the justice system about six years to bring the perpetrator before the trial judge.

“The second trauma I went through, was standing at the door of the court getting ready to testify and seeing my husband’s killer eye to eye,” she narrated further, recollecting that despite having had started to heal she couldn’t stand the sight of the person who killed her husband in cold blood.

“Seeing him brought back the fear, but I thank God since I had gone through counselling courtesy of IJM,” she stated.

The third traumatic experience for Peninah came about when the case started dragging on, taking a long time in court despite the presence of evidence. Knowing that the perpetrator was free at some point, prompted the IJM and IPOA to take her away into a safe house, where she was completely disconnected with her family members, to keep her safe. “I was taken to a place where I didn’t know by the witness protection program and could not access social media. The only people I could talk to were from the witness protection program,” she recalled.

Many hurdles

However, Peninah has the church to thank for standing with her while she went through her ordeal.

She recalled that when she went to the police station to post bail for her husband she was told he had been admitted to hospital. “I want to commend the Korogocho OCS who is now counselling the youth today. I want to ask that the cases in court are shortened so that the families may not lose hope,” she appealed.

IJM says that victims and witnesses are often confronted with many hurdles along the way as they seek justice for example; the complexities of the legal process, trauma that they suffered as a result of the crime, delay in concluding the case, and threats to their life and those of their loved ones among others.

Economic challenges

The victims and witnesses are also to suffer economic challenges which makes it difficult to attend court regularly, and above all, the psychological stress of having unfinished business.

 All these factors according to Benson Shamala, the Country Director, IJM-Kenya, makes it hard for them to want to pursue justice and especially if the process of following up on the case is tedious and unfriendly adding on to the already existing trauma.

He called on the criminal justice system in the country to be sensitive while handling survivors and witnesses.

“By the criminal justice system, we mean from the moment the violation happens, to investigations and the court process,” he said, attesting that from casework experience of over 20 years, survivors and witnesses who get counselled and handled sensitively in the system are in a better position to be great witnesses in court and provide the correct testimony, thus aiding the court to come to just conclusions and judgments.

Shamala noted that pursuing justice for victims becomes an uphill task that they have to endure for several years before their cases are completed in the Criminal Justice System. “It is therefore also worth noting that victims and survivors of crime are better placed to pursue justice if their mental well-being is taken care of,” he added.

He pointed out that victims and witnesses need a criminal justice system that is cognizant of the trauma that they have suffered, with the current talk being about providing Trauma Informed Care services within our Criminal Justice System.