A Day in the Dark

Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"Wait, before you start, would it be okay if I record your statement with my phone?" I asked, holding up my phone.

Maha nodded.

Swiftly opening the recording app, I lay the phone on the table, making sure the microphone was facing Maha.

"Please say your name and age before you start your story."

Then I waited for her to start.

"My name is Maha Munir and I turned 17 one month ago. I am from Mombasa and only came to live in Nairobi 3 months ago. And the reason I did that is because," Maha stopped, her voice growing uneasy and her eyes darting around. Asha squeezed her shoulder, a tender look in her eyes.

"I, was..." she licked her lips and whispered, "raped."

My heart skipped a beat.

"It was a Tuesday and I was coming home from school. My parents normally send a driver to pick me up but that day, I hadn't wanted to go home with him. I took a tuk tuk instead. But...I didn't know that the guy wouldn't take me home."

"He took me to a house, it was nowhere near where I live and he left me there. I called my mum but she didn't pick up so I called my dad. He didn't pick up either. I was starting to get angry when these three other guys came and they dragged me into the house. Then they used me," her voice broke.

But she kept going.

"They did things to me and they ripped my uniform and they left me. I don't remember what happened next because I woke up and it was morning. My phone was still in my bag and I had so many missed calls from my family. And I was crying but I called my mum and they found me. They took me home. I cleaned up and when I was ready, I told them what happened."

She paused, taking a sip of her orange juice. Sweat had started forming on her forehead and I knew she was having a hard time relaying the incident. But I knew that if I stopped her, she might not have the courage to tell me again.

Maha cleared her throat, "They didn't believe me. My parents didn't believe that I had been raped. And when I told them who did it, because I recognised those men, they said I was crazy. They said I was making things up to gain their attention. And that I was trying to ruin respectable people's reputations. It was always about reputation. They don't even care." Maha scoffed.

"Aunty Asha had been working for my family for almost 5 years. She believed me and tried convincing my parents but they kicked her out. So Aunty Asha took me to the police since my parents weren't listening but the same thing happened with them. A few weeks passed and my parents pretended like nothing happened to me. So I got fed up of it. Aunty Asha told me she was going back to Nairobi so I begged her to take me with her. And now, here we are."

Her story had holes, she wasn't telling me everything. Maha had avoided telling me what happened in the house, before she passed out, how they had managed to keep her quiet, she avoided telling me who the men were even though she knew them and she avoided telling me about why her parents would think she was lying. And when I turned the recording off and looked at her, at her eyes, I realised just how tired she looked. The girl had gone through so much in a short amount of time that I couldn't bring myself to ask her about anything else.

"Thank you, for telling me. I know it wasn't easy but I hope you know that I will do my best to help you," I said, giving her a gentle smile.

"If it's not too much trouble, maybe you could come to my hotel room tomorrow and we could continue? I mean, I have some questions and we can start working on making a case?" I continued, looking at Asha hopefully.