A section of Kenyans has taken to social media to condemn an incident where a Grade Four pupil at Riang’ombe Primary School in Nyamira county was left nursing serious injuries after being flogged by his teacher.
In the incident that occurred on Sunday, March 26, 2023, the teacher is said to have given the pupil 107 strokes of the cane on his buttocks after he had gone to report his missing clothes. Students at the school noted that the minor had washed his clothes and left them to dry, but when he went to unhang them they were missing.
The teacher called other pupils to assist him to pin down the learner before assaulting him.
Upon realising the seriousness of his injuries the teachers at the school kept the minor in the dormitories without treatment.
His uncle who spoke to a local publication noted that he received a call from his brother informing him to check on the minor.
His brother informed him that the minor’s younger brother had visited the school to check on him but was denied access. However, he had been informed by other students that his brother had been seriously injured after he was flogged for unknown reasons.
“I asked my brother how he had known about the injury of his son. He told me that our last-born brother happened to be around Manga where there were some sports going on. He said that since the school is within the vicinity, he decided to go and visit him,” his uncle said.
“The boy is unable to walk. He cannot sit up. The teachers conspired to manipulate us not to expose this issue, claiming the boy was injured slightly and that he was getting well. They claimed that the assailant had apologised and that it was necessary to protect him from losing his job,” he added.
The boy’s father revealed that the minor had only been in the school for two months after he was transferred from Nairobi.
He also revealed that efforts to confront the school management were rendered futile after the teachers blocked their attempts.
The minor’s father noted that the matter was reported to Nyamira police station but they were referred to report to Manga where the incident occurred.
He stated that the officers harassed the minor forcing him to identify all the students who pinned him down, something he was unable to do since he was still a new student.
The police assured the parents that they were investigating the incident to establish the motive behind the incident and bring the boy’s perpetrators to book.
The minor was taken to Nyamira County Referral Hospital where he was treated and discharged.
A section of social media user are now calling on the Ministry of Education to take action against the teachers involved.
