Woman whose eye was gouged out still cries for justice

December 16, 2019 marks a year since Stella Mwende was attacked by a man who gouged out her eye after she spurned him.

The mother of two sons was slashed with a panga on December 15, 2018 by a man identified as Victor Odhiambo after she refused to be his lover.

One year later, Mwende has known no justice despite the intervention of the Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI) George Kinoti and Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Noordin Haji.

DEAD END

For months, the 43-year-old woman has followed up her case in efforts to seek justice. She is now staring at a dead end.

“It has been traumatising for me. I have even decided not to follow up this case again because, whenever I ask about it, I am forced to relive the memories of the sufferings I have undergone,” she says.

Mwende, a businesswoman, has been footing expenses for her treatment.

All the income she makes from her clothes business has been channelled towards treating her injured eye.

“As we speak, Sh150,000 is needed so that I can visit a specialist in Nairobi and, since I cannot raise that amount, I have resigned to just undergoing routine medical check-ups which are still costly,” she says.

CASE WITHDRAWN

She had hoped that the courts would deliver justice to her but the case was withdrawn.

The suspect was released by a Mombasa court on May 30 after the prosecution withdrew the case because police officers had failed to produce his file.

Odhiambo, 28, had been charged with causing grievous harm and wounding Mwende but was later freed.

The suspect had been arrested in April this year following an order by Mr Haji and Mr Kinoti.

Odhiambo was tracked to Nairobi where he was arrested and taken to Mombasa to face the charges, but was released shortly after.

FREE MAN

Following the withdrawal of the case, Odhiambo is now a free man.

When the Nation made an inquiry over his release, police said they would track him down.

Police had said they would track down the suspect when the Nation made inquiries about his release.

Before the assault, Mwende sold food at a roadside kioskwhere Odhiambo was her regular customer.

Mwende says the 28-year-old scrap metal dealer made persistent advances for a romantic relationship which she turned down.

On December 12, 2018, two days before the assault, Odhiambo offered to help Mwende put up a temporary shade at her eatery. He brought a panga for the job.

He would later use the panga to attack Mwende at her home in Ganjoni, Mombasa.

She reported the matter at the Central Police Station under OB No. 88/17/12/2018.

A year later, Odhiambo is a free man and Mwende’s chances of getting justice remain bleak.