THE #FINDEPIE STORY - CALL IT WHAT IT IS: RAPE

Disturbing news broke the internet for Cameroonians days ago when a video of a man known as Epie sexually assaulting a young girl went viral. I haven't watched the video and I can't and I won't watch because it is impossible to unwatch things like that. I mean I can't bring myself to register images in my brain of a girl being tortured. And I am still recovering from a horrible story of sexual assault I had to deal with last year.

That said, I have gathered from the numerous posts on my Facebook newsfeed that a certain Epie Ntoko, who lives in Kumba, in the South West region of Cameroon, filmed himself assaulting a young girl called Kelly. According to word on the ground, Epie assaulted this girl due to 2500 CFA Francs (about $5). Now, I'm not sure if this is money she owed him or it is money he offered her.

Word on the ground has it that, the incident occurred in November 2016. But the video was recently leaked on social media by Epie's friend, a certain Collins Nkang. Epie is rumoured to have travelled to Dubai while his friend Collins is behind bars.

Again, from the stories I've read, the girl begged him to stop and also said it hurt. But he didn't stop.

Now, why would a man, film himself inflicting pain on another person. Sexual pain for that matter? Sick sick sick!

Another thing that bothers me is why such videos go viral. I mean, what is the aim of a human being sharing real life pornographic content with others on social media? Sick sick sick!

Why didn't the first person or group of persons who received the video delete it right away? Why do such things go viral?

The thing that is most bothersome about this is that some people have the guts to blame the girl who was a victim in this case. Some are saying it wasn't rape and she got what she deserved. Like seriously, bro?

Do we need to revisit the definition of rape?

According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, rape is ": unlawful sexual activity and usually sexual intercourse carried out forcibly or under threat of injury against the will usually of a female or with a person who is beneath a certain age or incapable of valid consent."

1. Sexual activity took place.
2. The girl was under threat.

How can this not be rape??

We need to stop this victim blaming and victim shaming. NO ONE deserves to be raped. Even if a man or woman is parading naked, they do not deserve to be rape. There are things humans deserve. Rape is not one of them!

This story made the hashtag #FindEpie trend on social media. So many Cameroonians want Epie to be found and brought to justice. While justice is important, we must also remember that there are many "Epies" around us.

There are many sexual perverts and heartless people on this earth. Some are in our homes, in our families, in our offices and in our churches.

So we must teach our young girls and boys to tread with caution and flee from every appearance of evil. And we must have zero tolerance to any form of sexual abuse.

As for the young girl Kelly, this is not the end of your life. You can rise up and be successfully. You can have a better life from now on and be all that God wants you to be.