‘My wives are beating me up,’ man opens up as he seeks for help

By Peter Ochieng

A man has come out to openly seek for help, after periods of reportedly being subjected to Gender Based Violence (GBV) by his two wives.

Antony Omollo (not his real name) said his wives have turned him into a punching bag, owing to his financial inability to comfortably take care of them and their children.

One wife has 6 children while the other one has 3. Omollo said he does menial jobs so as to put food on the table. He urged the government to protect men against GBV, adding that the majority of them are suffering in silence.

“Men are really suffering in silence. They are being battered by their wives. When you report to police, officers laugh at you, mockingly wondering how ‘a whole man’ can be beaten by a woman,” he lamented.

“Some women are heavily built and can easily beat up their slender husbands. As men, we also deserve our rights, we are really suffering.”

Omollo opened up on Tuesday during a community dialogue forum organized by the Nyando Social Justice Centre in Ahero, where 200 women were being sensitized on embracing table banking and merry-go-round initiatives for economic empowerment, geared towards reducing or preventing GBC cases in homes and communities.

In a classic case of 'from your mouth to my ears,' his plea fell in the right years, at the right time. Nyando Social Justice Centre officials led by Caren Wamboi Omanga, the convener, took up the case and pledged to ensure that Omollo receives the psychosocial support he needs.

Omanga said the healing process will involve having a sit-down with Omollo’s wives to identify areas linked to the unfortunate events in his home. She urged men with similar experiences to come out, warning against electing to ‘die in silence.’

“Cases of men being beaten are high but the major challenge is that they don’t report. Many women are now widows because men are depressed and are dying in silence.”

Through the table banking program, Nyando Social Justice Centre won the best innovators award in access to justice in Kenya, spearheaded BarefootLaw, a nonprofit organization which empowers masses with free legal information.

Wanjiru Mutero, BarefootLaw legal consultant said they continue working with like-minded organizations using innovative ways to champion access to justice to the grassroots level.