Hundreds of Kenyan citizens and civil society activists on Sunday, took to the streets of Tirana, the capital of Albania, to demand justice for a Kenyan lady who was gang-raped.
The protesters who gathered on streets outside the Police Directorate in the Albanian capital, accused the police of not doing enough to arrest the perpetrators of the crime.
The victim, a 22-year-old identified as Joy Aoko was found unconscious under the building where she lived in Tirana on August 13 and medical reports confirmed she was raped.
One of the leaders of the demonstration, Xheni Karaj, a women rights activist, who spoke to journalists, said:
“Does justice only work for bad people? Covering up this crime sets a precedent against the vulnerable in the whole country.
“We demand a stronger investigation and demand that the perpetrators are brought to justice. We demand that the institutions pay the bills for her treatment abroad.”
A lawyer Idajet Beqiri who was part of the protest said he was outraged at the concealment of the incident by the police, adding that hiding the case was a crime in itself.
“I consider it a great shame for Albanian institutions. This incident happened on August 14 and the police did not notify the citizens.
“The state police hid the crime. Is this all about racism or are there other reasons? Covering up a crime is a crime in itself.”
The victim’s mother, Ruth Aoka, who was interviewed after the protest, Joy had been chased by a casino driver for a long time and that she felt threatened and unsafe.
“She told me that a driver was following her and that he wanted to have a romantic relationship with her, but she didn’t want him.
“She told me that she was being threatened. I met the driver and started a normal conversation with him and asked him why he doesn’t take no for an answer from my daughter,” the mother said, adding that the police has refused to pursue the angle, possibly because the driver is Albanian.
According to her, the daughter has been in hospital for three months in a serious condition with the police doing nothing to get her justice.