Hard-line Muslims on the outskirts of Nairobi attacked a Christian widow’s children, ages 13, 17 and 21, leaving two of them seriously injured and still in pain 11 days after the assault on 17 November.
Hadiya (surname withheld), an immigrant from Somalia (where all Somalis are assumed Muslim), had not yet returned from a trip to a funeral when the assailants of Somali descent broke into her home at 5.30am.
Hadiya’s 17-year-old daughter was asleep in her room, while the brothers were asleep in the front room, when the Muslim gang knocked on their door.
The brothers asked who was at the door. Refusing to identify themselves, the Muslims smashed a window and said: ‘You have become an embarrassment to our clan as well as the entire Muslim community. We are here today to finish you and your children.’
Their sister began screaming as the assailants broke in through the window, and the three siblings tried to escape through the door, Hadiya said. The gang beat them so much that blood was found throughout the front room, a Christian neighbour said.
Rescued by neighbours
Neighbours soon arrived and rescued the three children. ‘When we arrived at the scene of the incident, the attackers fled,’ the neighbour recounted. ‘We took the three to a nearby clinic before their mother arrived and then transferred them to a government health centre, where the youngest child was discharged, while two who were seriously injured were admitted for four days.’
The younger brother suffered injuries to his left leg, neck and chest, while the older brother sustained injuries to his head, chest and back from a blunt object and remains very weak. Their sister, who received heavy blows and kicks, bled from her nose and sustained a rib injury. A doctor’s report corroborated this assessment of the injuries.
In great fear
A follow-up visit to the doctor showed that the older brother and sister need x-rays, as they remain in pain. ‘We are living in great fear and experience sleepless nights,’ Hadiya said. ‘It is not safe for us to stay in this particular place. We need prayers and financial help at this difficult moment.’
