Sagini

It was a normal day in a small village in Kisii County, Kenya. There lived a 3-year-old boy named Sagini. He lived with his grandmother and his father, who often worked far away. He also had a stepsister. His mother had moved away after a disagreement with his father.

One Wednesday evening, Sagini and his stepsister went to a nearby stream to fetch water. This was a stream that many people in the village used, and it was normal for children to go there by themselves. Sagini was having a hard time carrying his water jerrican and was left behind by his sister. As it got dark, Sagini still hadn’t returned home. His worried grandmother went out to look for him.

Time passed, and more neighbors joined in searching, but they could not find Sagini. Early the next morning, Sagini’s grandmother was told that he had been found in the family’s banana plantation. Sagini was barely alive, and blood was coming from his eyes. One eye was completely gouged out, and the other was almost gone, as if something went wrong during the removal.

The police were called, and Sagini was rushed to the hospital for emergency treatment and surgery. The doctors said he would be blind for the rest of his life. The police began to investigate. At first, they thought Sagini had been kidnapped for human trafficking or organ removal. But after a full investigation, they found out the terrible truth.

The villagers were shocked when Sagini’s grandmother, 80 years old, his cousin, 27, and his aunt, 60, were arrested for torturing Sagini and almost causing his death. The police found out that on the day Sagini disappeared, his cousin kidnapped him from the stream. The cousin took him to his house where his grandmother and aunt were waiting. They held Sagini down while the cousin removed his eyes. Something went wrong while removing the second eye, so they left it hanging. They thought Sagini was dead, so they put him in a sack and hid him under the bed. Then, they told everyone he was missing, which started the search.

Early the next morning, the cousin took Sagini to the banana plantation. The aunt came later pretending to have found him there. The three were put on trial. After recovering, Sagini said in court that his grandmother was the one who gouged out his eyes. The cousin was sentenced to 40 years in prison, the aunt to 10 years, and the grandmother to 5 years. Later, the grandmother was set free because the prosecution did not have enough evidence against her.

The police also found out that this was done to Sagini for ritual purposes connected to another murder in the family. Some people believe they were paid to sell the child’s organs.