Five Dutch women attacked and raped in Kenya

A lot of my friends are going on mission trips this summer with Christian organisations, so I was pretty shocked to hear about this. Although nobody I know personally was involved, I do want to ask you all to pray for these young people.

Five young Dutch women between the ages of 17 and 25 were raped by a group of Kenyan men last Thursday during a working holiday organised by the Amersfoort based christian charity Livingstone.

A spokeswoman for Livingstone on Monday confirmed the report which was published in the Reformatorisch Dagblad newspaper, reports ANP news service.

The attacks took place while a group of 12 Dutch volunteers were working on rebuilding a school. Despite security measures, around 10 men forced their way onto the terrain using a neighbour as hostage, reports ANP.

The intruders, who were armed with a gun and other weapons, demanded all those present, including local people and children, to surrender their valuables. Five of the Dutch women were taken to another room where they were raped.

‘They also tried to rape a number of local women but they were eventually left alone because they had babies with them,’ the spokeswoman for Livingstone told ANP.

Staff at the organisation are ‘extremely shocked’ by the attacks and have immediately suspended the Kenyan project, she said.

The five Dutch women were treated at a hospital in Nairobi before being flown to Brussels on Saturday where they were met by family and Livingstone staff. They will be offered further medical care in the Netherlands.

Kenyan police have assigned 30 officers to the case and have already questioned a hundred people, says ANP.

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