Pregnant woman bleeds to death in botched 'cut'

A woman displays the razorblade she uses to perform FGM on girls. [File, Standard]

An expectant woman has bled to death while her co-wife is in hospital following a botched female genital mutilation (FGM) in Elgeyo Marakwet County.

The co-wives were subjected to the outlawed FGM in Kocholwo, Keiyo South sub-county on the wee hours of Tuesday but it turned tragic after the pregnant younger woman died from excessive bleeding.

The older woman was rushed to a nearby hospital. According to authorities, the co-wives might have been coerced by their husband to undergo the cut. On Wednesday, the police were still pursuing the polygamous man who reportedly fled after the younger wife died.

Keiyo South Deputy County Commissioner Diana Wekesa yesterday told The Standard that preliminary investigations indicate the man organised the circumcision.

Ms Wekesa said the circumcision was conducted secretly at the man’s home. The deceased wife, according to police officers investigating the case, was aged 26 while the older wife is in her early 40s.

Ms Wekesa said the police were questioning a 70-year-old woman suspected to have conducted the rite. “An alarm was raised on Tuesday afternoon that a woman who had undergone FGM had bled excessively. The area assistant chief rushed to the scene, which was the home of the co-wives and discovered that the younger wife was already dead,” she said yesterday.

She said a visit by authorities to the home where the female circumcision was conducted reported that scene was full of blood.

“The deceased woman was expectant and the pregnancy was visible. A postmortem will reveal the stage of the foetus and whether she had a condition that exacerbated the bleeding,” she said.

The deputy commissioner said the circumciser, who is being held by the police, reported the matter and surrendered herself to the police on Tuesday evening.

By Wednesday morning, the police were still looking for clues to trace the husband. “This is first reported case of FGM this year. We have received reports that some cases could be happening secretly in some villages. It is strange that several married women are undergoing an illegal exercise secretly. We are verifying information that some married women are being circumcised, get healed in their homes and get back to their normal lives like nothing happened,” Ms Wekesa said.

She added: “We are embarking on sensitisation of the community on dangers of FGM. We will be roping in county government teams in this drive.”

She said the older wife was in stable condition and would also help police in investigations after recovery. Ms Wekesa said the two women might have been pressured by individuals to undergo the cut. “This might have been a gender-based violence issue. Someone might have forced the women to undergo FGM,” she said.

Last year, authorities reported that thousands of women and girls secretly underwent FGM in parts of Elgeyo Marakwet, West Pokot and Baringo counties.

Unlike male circumcision which is done in visible seclusions, women were undergoing the cut in homes, making it difficult for cases to be reported, according police reports in 2023.

Last December, a police officer in Embobut Police Post was killed and his body partially burnt while a Catholic priest was assaulted by armed youth for trying to rescue girls from an FGM exercise in Marakwet.

Elgeyo Marakwet County Commander Peter Mulinge said angry youth raided the police post in a bid to get the girls who had been rescued by police, where they overpowered the officer on duty and stoned him to death before burning his body using a mattress.