A pupil suffered severe injuries after he was assaulted by his teacher/Courtesy
Kenyans are running a social media campaign with the hashtag #JusticeForGrade4Pupil after a learner suffered severe injuries after he was allegedly given 107 strokes of the cane by his teacher.
The 9-year-old pupil at Riang’ombe Primary School in Nyamira was caned on Sunday, and the incident was concealed by the teachers in question by keeping him in the dorm and denying him medical attention.
According to Nation, the boy’s uncle said the pupil told him he was assaulted when he went to report about his missing clothes.
“I received a telephone call yesterday after work. At around 7 p.m., my brother informed me from Nairobi that he had information that his son had been injured in school and asked me to go and verify the report,” the unnamed uncle said.
He then asked his brother how he had known about the injury to 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,” he continued.
The younger brother’s attempt to check on his nephew at the school was met with hostility from the teachers, who were working to ensure nobody else knew about the incident.
He later learned of the horrifying case from pupils in the school who approached and greeted him.
“They informed him that our nephew had been badly beaten up by a teacher who gave him 107 strokes of the cane for no apparent reasons.”
The pupils also told him that some boys were called to pin the assaulted learner down and that they counted up to107 strokes of the cane.
“The boy is unable to walk. He cannot sit up. The teachers conspired to manipulate us so we would not expose this issue, claiming the boy was injured slightly and that he was getting well. They claimed that the assailant had apologized and that it was necessary to protect him from losing his job,” said the uncle.
“I looked for the principal’s phone number and asked him why the child had been injured. The principal told me that he was not aware of the injuries. The principal told me that he had been told that the child was unwell, but the disclosure of the alleged injuries had not been brought to his attention.”
“We took the boy to Nyamira hospital, and after we undressed him, we noticed the injuries were very severe, to the extent that a huge tissue had been cut out of his buttocks as a result of the injuries.”
Records from Nyamira County Referral Hospital revealed that the boy has serious injuries on his buttocks.
“He was treated yesterday and discharged. He is now recuperating at home,” his father, who spoke to Nation, said.
Sam Oduor is the editor-in-chief at the Western Kenya Times who leverages the power of the Internet in telling stories that shape opinions.
