I never imagined a man could get raped

I was a student in Burundi before I became a refugee in Kenya. Burundi is a very poor country with a lot of political instability. My father was suspected of giving information to the rebels and he was arrested and killed. As the eldest son, they soon started to look for me. I decided to run away, I left Burundi and my family. I don’t know where they are now and they don’t know where I am.

Shortly after coming to Nairobi, I moved from Kasarani to Dandora. One day, I was taking a short-cut across a field when I got lost. Since I was new to the area I decided to ask for directions. I saw these five men- they were smoking weed and chewing miraa. I went to ask them for directions.

They first robbed me and took my phone and all my money. I thought they were just thieves and would leave me alone once they took what they wanted, but one of them started to undress. I struggled with them.

They pulled down my pants and took a razor blade and tore on my buttocks. Then they raped me. After the second person had raped me, some other people started walking our way, so they left me and ran.

The people called the MSF (Médecins Sans Frontières) clinic in Dandora. I first went to report to the police and then went to MSF. I was tested for HIV and was treated for my injuries. I was put on drugs to prevent HIV.

Now I have one month to go after which I will get another HIV test. I hope that that will confirm that I am negative. The MSF clinic has greatly helped me with treatment and even provided psychological care following my rape.

After reporting to the police, they asked me if I knew the men who raped me. I had never seen them before. They asked me how I expected to have the police arrest them if I cannot identify them, so now I don’t know what to do.

This incidence that happened to me in Kenya is very stressful. I’ve become depressed. Right now, my life resembles that of a person afflicted by a bad tragedy. There are days it hurts a lot when I go to the toilet. It hurts emotionally too. It becomes challenging to try to forget.

The situation in Burundi is very bad at the moment. I cannot go back, even if I wanted to. If I did, where would I begin? I don’t know where my family is and our house was demolished. What would I be going back to? I could get killed.