JUSTICE FOR MESONII

#JUSTICE FOR MESONII

Criminal case no 23/2022 opened at the Resident Magistrate’s court Arusha region in September 2022. Under Resident Magistrate Regina Wohilai against two accused Maasai men, Lamendea Lesirio and Kulasa Mandeya, who were faced with three counts of violence against a minor, grievous bodily harm and rape under statutory rape due to the plaintiff’s age. The case defied Maasai age old customs and a culture of violence that has spiralled out of control to include community complicity. The plaintiff (victim), was Mesonii Kachori, a 16-year-old girl resident of gelailumwe, kitombeine ward in Longido. The court heard how on that material date of 13/09/2022 two friends and a mother in-law turned on an innocent adolescent girl, shackled with an early marriage into a brutal bondage. With tears streaming down her face and talking through an interpreter as she could barely speak Swahili, the plaintiff narrated the ordeal of that fateful day in which she has been given a bottle of veterinary medicine for safe keeping but as she was going to keep the parasitecide she accidentally dropped it and the bottle broke. The plaintiff further narrated that she went to her husband friend’s house to beg his friend to go and plead on her behalf as it was an accident but contrary to that intent her husband’s friend who is also a friend of the first accused having been instructed by the husband took her and stated to beat her up all the way to her husband’s house accusing her of being negligent. Upon reaching her house her mother in-law took a rope which was used to tie her up so she couldn’t run away. They continued to beat her until her husband arrived upon which he joined in the beating with sticks. She was not allowed to sleep in the house and was given a jute sack to sleep on in the open by her mother in-law. The next morning her husband woke her up from where she had slept out in the open and demanded that she take the cattle out to graze but she could not, being too weak and in extreme pains from her wounds. she was having trouble to even stand and walk. The husband interpreted that to mean she was being stubborn and summoned his friend (The second accused) and together they carried her to the bushes where they stripped her naked and beat her again with sticks after which they tied her and made her to kneel down whereafter they dumped her in the bush after a three-day ordeal. On the third day, boys tending to their cattle found her but all they could do was untie her. Being too weak she couldn’t walk but she managed to crawl on her knees in search of help. Later that day Mesonii was found by a good Samaritan who rescued her and took her to his house and informed her family who came and picked her up and took her to the hospital for treatment. Later the family informed social welfare workers who took the girl to police and human rights defenders including Rose Njiro from MIMUTIE Women Organization.
Mesonii is not the first nor the last victim of a culture that oppresses and victimise adolescent girls under the guise of traditions and norms. Early marriages are a sad but normalised practice in these parts of Maasai pastoralist communities. Mesonii was married off at the early age of 14 years in 2020 to her husband. In a community that objectifies women and young girls her plight would probably not see the light of day had it not been for the tireless efforts of Women Rights Organizations that work tirelessly to end gender-based violence, fight against early marriages and other oppressive traditions. One such organization, MIMUTIE Women Organization was instrumental in raising voices in support of Mesonii. When they heard about this injustice, they quickly sprang into action and galvanised other protection mechanism such as social welfare officers to take action. Mesonii was supported to get medical attention and get treatment, her case was taken to court and women rights defenders flocked the courthouse every time the case was mentioned. Finally, Case number 23/2022 came up to judgement on 27th December 2023, the two accused stood before the resident magistrate faced with three counts of inflicting grievous bodily harm, violence against a minor and statutory rape of a minor in a case that took 4 months. In her judgement, Magistrate Regina, contended that the defence offered by the defendants did not have weight because the court did not need any number of witnesses to convince the court in making its ruling because the plaintiff was able to identify the two accused and was able to narrate vividly how the entire the episode unfolded. It was obvious from the evidence that the plaintiff was beaten extensively, she was tortured and was left to fend for herself out in the bushes. Furthermore, although the marriage act of 2019 under article 19 allows for a girl to be married at 14 years the law stipulates that in such a situation the groom has to convince the court that there are grounds that merit such marriage and that there was no evidence that the first accused had sought such court permission. That being the case the court finds that the plaintiff was married while she was 14 years old and that the material customary marriage was consummated as evidenced by testimony of both the plaintiff and the doctor who investigated the plaintiff. The magistrate stressed that although customary laws within the Maasai culture and customs may allow such unions but in the eyes of the law it is unlawful to marry an underage child as it constitutes statutory rape regardless of implicit or tacit consent. In her judgement reading, Magistrate Regina found all the accused guilty of two and three counts respectively. The first and second accused were both found guilty of two counts of violence against a minor and inflicting grievous bodily harm and were sentenced to 5 years for each count and a fine of 2 million shillings. On the third count facing the first accused alone who is also the plaintiff’s self-professed husband, the court found Lamendea Lesirio guilty of statutory rape under the penal code and thereby sentenced the first accused to 30 years in prison.
The lesson in this case is that communities can be empowered to raise their voices and stand firm to see justice served. The multitude of proponents of justice voices that joined the call for justice for Mesonii made it a public interest case which without a doubt lent weigh to tipping the scales in favour of Mesonii even in the face of staunch customary law advocates and paved the way for the law of the land to prevail in her favour. It is a tribute to women from community level who work tirelessly and sometimes in dangerous conditions to confront patriarchy….but it is a also a tribute to organizations that support their work such as Women Fund Tanzania Trust.