Kenyan police hunt for national rugby players for alleged rape of singer

Kenyans are demanding justice for a woman who claims she was sexually assaulted by a rugby player and his friend. Wendy Kemunto who describes herself as a singer revealed details of the alleged incident on her Instagram page and named Frank Wanyama, a Harlequins Rugby Club player, and one of his colleagues, Alex Olaba as the perpetrators.

According to her, the two players took turns in raping her overnight on her birthday on February 10 this year and she has now been left pregnant.

“I was slipping in and out of consciousness may be due to shock but I was helpless. I couldn’t fight two men who play rugby professionally, obviously they were stronger hence I let them do whatever they wanted to do the whole night,” she was quoted by local media The Star.

She added that she could have reported the incident to the police but initially failed to do so because she feared the repercussions.

“I could’ve reported the case to police but I was in denial, shock, pain and exhausted! I didn’t want to report also because of the profile of one of this rugby players,” she wrote.

“I still don’t want to report coz of the toll it had had on me…more than a month later I found out I am pregnant from the ordeal guys. Reporting a case now will not have any impact because of the way the system is set up mostly helps the rapist never the victim,” she added.

“I tried reaching out to …to take responsibility for his actions…as I don’t know his other friend and I wouldn’t know the father to this child. I even threatened him to go public but he told me to hit the road and look for a lawyer.”

The issue was widely shared on various social media platforms, with the lady being encouraged to report the incident to the police.

Twitter users have since launched a campaign using the hashtag #justiceforkemunto to pressurize authorities to take action immediately.

The office of the directorate of public prosecution on Monday, April 2, said it had contacted the victim and has since directed the police to probe the case.

Meanwhile, the Kenya Rugby Union has also issued a statement saying that it was reviewing the case.

“It is also important to note that with a report having been made to law enforcement officers, the KRU cannot comment further about the allegations pending the outcome of investigations,” the statement was quoted by local media The Star.

“KRU wishes to state that it does not condone sexual harassment or any other activity that goes against the spirit of World Rugby Regulation 20 and remains committed to continued respect, empowerment and increased participation in all aspects of the sport of rugby,” the statement added.