Police hunt man accused of dousing schoolgirl with acid

**Police hunt man accused of dousing schoolgirl with acid**

Detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations are searching for a man suspected of throwing acid on a teenage schoolgirl in what her family describes as a revenge attack after she repeatedly refused his romantic advances.

The incident, which occurred in the evening hours as the girl returned home from school, left her with severe burns to her face, neck, and upper arms. She was rushed to a county referral hospital where doctors placed her in the burns unit. Her condition is described as serious but stable.

The girl's mother told police that the suspect, a man in his mid-twenties and known to the family, had been approaching her daughter for months despite being consistently turned away. The mother said she had feared for her daughter's safety and had reported the harassment to local elders, though no formal police report was filed at that time.

Acid attacks against women and girls in Kenya are predominantly linked to romantic rejection, a pattern documented by the Federation of Women Lawyers in Kenya, which has repeatedly called for tougher sentencing under the Statute Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act. Survivors frequently face lifelong physical and psychological consequences, with many requiring multiple reconstructive surgeries unavailable in rural public hospitals.

Police say the suspect fled the area immediately after the attack and is believed to be hiding in a neighbouring county. Officers have circulated his description to roadblocks across the region.

The attack has drawn condemnation from local women's rights organisations, who are demanding that authorities treat the case as a gender-based violence emergency. The family has appealed to the public for information on the suspect's whereabouts.