Teacher accused of sodomising pupils since 2016 arrested

Shocked by child abuse: Toi Primary School, Kibera, Nairobi.

 

Parents and pupils in Toi Primary School pupils in Kebera are accusing a teacher of sexually molesting young learners.

On Tuesday morning, the nearly 500 pupils of the school demonstrated against the 31-year-old teacher, angrily calling on authorities to punish him.

Over the weekend, the pupils and parents at the school shockingly hear that the pleasant tutor was a sex  pest.

Hassan Ibrahim, a parent at the school said a class four pupil on Saturday admitted the teacher had molested him.

“The boy admitted that the teacher had been raping him,” Ibrahim told Standard.

He added, “The boy has been quiet about it all along. It was only that this time the teacher molested him quite severely. He (the victim) was oozing blood and a watery substance from his anal region. He was even unable to walk properly or go for a long call”.

Parents say the sexual assault occurred on Saturday. “On Saturday’s the pupils learn until lunch hour and leave for home. The rape occurred after the other pupils had left for home,” the parents say.

According to Ibrahim, after the parents of the assaulted boy noticed the injuries, they took him to the Nairobi Women’s Hospital.

“The doctor confirmed that the injuries were a result of rape, and that it had been going on for a long time,” Ibrahim said. It was during the probe by the doctor that the 11-year-old class four pupil revealed that he had been raped by his teacher.

The hospital alerted the Kilimani Police Station but before the officers could arrest the suspect, incensed parents stormed his home.

“We had been monitoring him since morning, got there at around 11 and took him to the police station,” said another parent.

Going by the accounts of multiple parents, the boy’s revelations have encouraged more of the teacher’s victims, who would otherwise never have spoken up, to talk.

“So far three more boys and one girl have come forward, but we suspect there could be more victims,” notes Kate Wangui, a rights activist who is one of those mounting pressure on the police and school administration. One of the sexually assaulted boys is disabled.

Victims have recounted how the 31-year-old teacher, whom parents say has taught at the school for between three and four years, coerced and molested them. Parents say the victims' ages range between 10 and 12.

According to the parents and activists, the victims revealed that the teacher would often molest them on benches or desks inside locked classrooms and at his house. According to them, the affected pupils confided in them that he would reprimand the pupils after the rape if they left without hugging or kissing him.

Videos recorded by the parents during the arrest and seen by Standard show him confessing to touching pupils’ sexual organs.

The parents, however, note that some teachers at the school have been key in handling the issue, since they are the ones who informed the Teachers’ Service Commission (TSC).

On Monday, TSC officials were at the school probing pupils and teachers, as investigations into the string of rapes begin. As of Tuesday, the suspect was being detained at Kilimani Police Station.