Samson Mwita, a clinical officer, was in the middle of an abortion procedure at Mwera Medical Centre in Eastlands, Nairobi five years ago, when police officers burst into the operating room. “The patient I was operating on was a minor of 16 years who had been defiled. Since she was in her second trimester, I had initiated an induction but the police officers interrupted me. They stopped the procedure and told me that what I was doing was against the law,” Mr Mwita said.
Before they were arrested, the officers asked the doctor and the girl’s mother for a bribe of Sh500,000, which they refused to give. The girl was taken to a hospital, where the fetus died.
The doctor and the mother were charged with procuring an abortion contrary to the Penal Code. However, after a five year court battle, all the charges were dismissed because abortion of a pregnancy resulting from rape is legal in Kenya.
SOURCE: The Nation, by Agatha Gichana, 9 October 2023 + part of a SHUTTERSTOCK PHOTO