“If 18-month-old girls are being gang-raped, why are the suspects still free?” The Guardian asked in an article detailing shocking and unimaginable events of rape that plague the children and women of Kavumu, a destitute village in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
In Kavumu, children aged 18 months to 11 years were abducted in the middle of the night, while their families were fast asleep, gang raped and left to bleed to death in a nearby field. The victims’ families believed they were drugged by a “magic powder” sprinkled over their houses by the assailants during attacks, so that they remained asleep while their children were stolen away to be defiled.
In a space of three years, as many as 50 children have been gang raped, the article stated. Four more as of two weeks ago. And while a few have died from mortal injuries sustained from being raped, many survive with both mental and physical traumatic injuries that will last them a lifetime.
The identical nature of the events surrounding these atrocities suggested a form of barbaric ritual where militia fighters brutally rape female children with the belief that virgin blood will fortify them for battle. It appears that the ongoing senseless war in the DRC is being paid for with the blood of toddlers, as they are the target of this heinous crime.
According to the author, Lauren Wolfe, the man, the suspect, behind these acts of sexual violence has been an open secret to the government of the DRC, yet for years, they let him and his men run amok in the village of Kavumu. They only moved to arrest him and his cohorts yesterday, after Wolfe’s story was published by The Guardian.
Confirmed that arrest warrant for suspected mastermind in rapes of babies in #Kavumu was issued last night. Post my @guardian op-ed. #impact
— Lauren Wolfe (@Wolfe321) June 21, 2016
Not only has suspected leader in #Kavumu rapes been arrested but so have 67 of his men. After 3 yrs, families can sleep tonight.
— Lauren Wolfe (@Wolfe321) June 21, 2016
In her story, Wolfe mentioned that over a year ago the Kinshasa government had swung into action by announcing the launch of a “national investigation” after she first wrote about the attacks. But that was all there was to it, an announcement. They failed, or rather, refused to implement basic and effective measures to put an end to the attacks, until now. The reasons for this include corruption, incompetence, a flawed legal system and an alleged involvement of certain government authorities in the crime.
Incidents of rape are not strange in the DRC; the ongoing war which has lasted decades has seen millions of women of varying ages raped, tortured, and killed. But so far, the government has failed to bring these human rights abusers to justice and this passivity has only led to the prevalence of these attacks, fostering a culture of impunity.
It is, therefore, a breath of fresh air to see the Kinshasa government finally act on something. Although the arrests may seem like a minute gesture in the midst of so many unaddressed issues that characterise the raging war, it is a step in the right direction. Hopefully, these criminals are brought to book, and effective policies implemented to put an end to the horrific acts of sexual violence perpetuated against the women and children of Kavumu, Congo.
