A 45-year-old woman, whose identity we have concealed due to the sensitivity of the matter, is nursing serious genital injuries after being assaulted by her husband in Mombasa.
The mother of five children claims that her 54-year-old husband whom they have lived together for 26 years inflicted her injuries while attempting to circumcise her using pliers.
“He has been violent towards me since I relocated to Mombasa from upcountry after I discovered that he had another woman whom he used to live with,” she told K24 Digital.
According to the woman, she broke her ribs while struggling to prevent her husband from circumcising her on Tuesday, September 7, 2021.
She narrates that her husband arrived home at around 5 pm and found her outside the house alongside other neighbours. She alleges that the husband confronted her with demands that he be attended to in the house.
At around 8 pm she alleges that the man dragged her inside the house and beat her to an extent that she fainted. She says the husband then undressed her and inserted pliers into her private parts so as to circumcise her.
“After I fainted, he removed my pants and inserted the pliers in my private parts. The pain was too much. I have not been able to walk properly since then and I have not sought proper medication due to financial constraints. I have to deal with bleeding every day,” she narrated to K24 Digital.
She further revealed that the husband has not requested her to get cut. She says she only uses force.
“He has never asked me to undergo circumcision peacefully. Whenever he becomes violent he always wants to circumcise me using crude weapons,” she narrated.
She says this was the second time her husband was trying to circumcise her after a botched attempt in August.
“He almost succeeded in cutting me since I had fainted after a fight where he literary broke my back as confirmed by the doctors. Amidst much pain, I regained consciousness forcing him to stop. He was using some crude metal,” she explained.
“Last month, he used pliers on my private parts and I bled so much. I however didn’t report to police for fear of my life,” she added.
According to medical documents, the victim had in August, under the Gender Violence Recovery programme at the Nairobi Women’s Hospital-Mombasa treated for a fracture on the right hand as a result of physical assault. She says the assault was also an attempt to forcefully circumcise her.
“The patient has a history of physical assault by her husband. She came to the hospital complaining of chest pains, a broken arm and general body pains so we ran an x-ray text that eventually showed a fracture on the right ribs,” reads part of the report.
On his part, the husband denied the claims saying that the wife was the one assaulting him.
“I have not inserted anything in her private parts. I suspect she has another man and I’m now ready to let her go since she is unable to take care of the kids,” he said.
