Bar Hostess Empowerment and Support Programme {BHESP} Friday joined hundreds of women in Nairobi to protest the brutal murder of Rongo University student Sharon Otieno.
Ms. Otieno, a second-year student, was killed and her body dumped in a thicket in Oyugis, Homa Bay County.
Led by BHESP’s Paralegal Mary Mugure, the protesters donned white and red t-shirts crisscrossed Nairobi streets with placards criticizing the inhuman killing of Sharon and her unborn baby demanding for speedy conclusions of the investigation into the brutal murder.
“We are here to tell Kenyans that no one has a right to kill. How on earth do you stab to death a mother and her unborn child?” Posed Mugure.
Mugure added that they will go on with the protests until the police get to the bottom of the matter and justice is seen to be served for Otieno and her child.
“In Kenya, women including female sex workers have always been victims of violence and that’s why we are calling for an end to the rights violations. Sharon’s death is a clear indication how people in high places utilize their powers to violate rights,” she said.
According to one of the organizers of the ‘Stop Killing Us’ protest, Ashura Ali, said they are demanding justice for Sharon saying she didn’t deserve to die no matter the circumstances.
“The unborn child and her mother represent other survivors of human rights violations. We will not relent until justice is served,” she added.
In Kenya, BHESP collaborates with human rights organizations in ensuring women get equal protection of the law like anyone else.
In cases of arbitrary arrests and rights violation, sex workers, WSW, women using drugs and bar hostesses report to BHESP, and BHESP reports to human rights organizations/partners for legal aid.
