Disclaimer: This article contains incidents of bullying and sexual assault.
Kasmuel McOure is a well-spoken political activist known for voicing Gen Z’s thoughts on national issues. He gained popularity during the Finance Bill and anti-government protests for his bold street actions.
However, behind the polished 26-year-old man is a heartbreaking story of 11-year-old Kasmuel, who suffered bullying and sexual assault by older boys at his childhood SDA church.
How did Kasmuel McOure Bullying Start?
It all began one fine afternoon after McOure, then aged 11, and his friends came from attending a church service at their local church.
The music enthusiast and his fellow preteens decided to have a Kei-apple throwing contest to see who could throw the furthest.
“I just remember picking up a Kei Apple and throwing it as far as I could. And it hit one of the youths in church,” he recalled.
The youth group was so enraged that they charged towards the younger group.
“When my friends saw the youth group charging towards us, they ran away helter-skelter. But I stood my ground, with an apology in my mouth, knowing that it would suffice.”
But Kasmuel’s apology did nothing to appease the anger of the youth group, one of whom had been hurt by the Kei apple hurled by the 11-year-old boy.
“And that incident marked the beginning of several months of bullying.” he recalls.
Kasmuel McOure went through bad things at the hands of the youth boy group.
While those bullies “were very creative” in ways to torture him, one particlular incident stands out.
“One day after class I went to the urinal to ease myself, it was at a clogged urinal in church. And my bullies walked in and told me that if I did not drink from that urinal, they would beat me up.” he narrates.
“I was so afraid of being beaten up by a group of boys, that I knelt down and took a sip from that godforsaken urinal. And I can still remember its taste in my mouth.”
The traumatic incident deeply affected McOure, who says “I believe that is the day I lost my sense of disgust. The bullies laughed heartily and gleefully and left me, and I was free.”
But that was not the end of the bullying for Kasmuel. And it only got worse leading to sexual assault.
He says, “I can explain where the bullying started and what I did to deserve it. But I cannot tell you what I did to warrant the sexual assault.”
So traumatized was he that he could not speak about it for years.
“You see children do not know what to do with sexual information. And that is why many victims only come out many years after it happened.” McOure says.
He added, “Till date, I do not play football vbecause that was the favorite sport of my assailants”
The Outcome
The traumatized young boy took out his frustrations by focusing on his studies.
“Those two events and my parents’ high expectations” are what motivated him to excel academically.
Kasmuel McOure holds a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce (Finance and Financial Management Services) from the Technical University of Kenya.
By Vivian K.