Switch TV Kenya's presenter Nana Owiti has shared the untold story of how she was sexually assaulted as a child
Posted on Tuesday, April 20, 2021
Author: Tonny Otieno
Nana Owiti was sexually assaulted as a child
At the age of nine, Nana lived with her grandparents and aunties upcountry. Her mother was a police officer working and living in Nairobi Embakasi area. They rarely met, but she would visit her once in a while.
According to Nana, the hostels in which her mother lived were small, and they would share houses with fellow officers. During Nana's visits, she would sleep in the living room. On one particular visit, her mother trusted her Uncle to share the bed with her in the living room. This was when he took advantage of her innocence.
Nana reveals that her Uncle would touch her inappropriately while they slept. She states that as innocent as she was, she knew that what was happening was wrong and would ask her Uncle to stop in vain. The Uncle would threaten to hurt her and her mother if she were to tell anyone what was happening.
"The biggest gift we give to our abusers is the silence of the victim," Nana said.
Nana's mother was a busy woman, and due to the fact that they rarely spent time together, there was no mother-daughter closeness. Talking about something of the sort was not easy, and when she once tried to open up to her mother, she lacked the words had no breakthrough. This terrible experience made her hate visiting her mother.
Nana Owiti and King Kaka
The first time she dared to talk about the incident was in 2017 with her husband, renowned musician King Kaka, who advised her to seek therapy. The next time was with her aunt. According to Nana, the aunt struggled to have that dialogue out of shame, considering the abuser was a close family member.
Nana Owiti has made it clear that the reason why she decided to come out is to encourage people to speak out when such incidents happen to them. Also, Parents should create a bond with their children such that they will feel safe to open up. It's high time that parents started being straight forward with their children and telling the matters they are, call body parts by their names...
"It's a war that we need to rise, and as a parent, I felt the moral obligation to educate other parents so that they don't fall trap to this menace". She explained.
Watch her full interview on Switch TV Kenya's Full Circle, below...
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