Court orders Sh2m payout to an orphan's aunt after teacher's hockey-stick beating

The High Court has awarded Sh2 million to the guardian of a student who was beaten with a hockey stick by a teacher at Kangaru Secondary School. [Courtesy]

Taxpayers and a former teacher will foot Sh2 million in compensation to a guardian of an orphan whom he beat up with a hockey stick, as punishment for a late entry to a mathematics class.

Justice Lawrence Mugambi found that the Teachers Service Commission (TSC), Kangaru Secondary School board and the Attorney General had violated the rights of a 17-year-old codenamed JNK.

He observed that when the boy was senselessly beaten up, the school’s management went mute on the incident, gave him some painkillers, and when he deteriorated, they rushed him to hospital and subsequently coerced him to lie to his aunt that he had fallen.

Justice Mugambi was of the view that although doctors said that he died of pulmonary tuberculosis, the pain caused by his then teacher, James Mwai and the cover-up were a violation of the Constitution and his right not to be harmed.

“They neglected to ensure appropriate timely action in respect of the minor’s abuse, violence and unlawful punishment until when the aunt (minor’s guardian) came into the picture and escalated the matter,” said Justice Mugambi, adding that TSC only acted too late in the day by kicking Mwai out of the profession only after the family piled pressure.

“While disciplinary action was ultimately taken, it occurred mainly because of the petitioner’s family’s sustained pressure, which was long after the harm had been caused already.  It amounted to little more than palliative care administered after the fact of injury than timely protective intervention that could have reassured the minor during his critical moment of distress.

JNK was born in 2001. Unfortunately, his mother, Mary Gichuki, died, leaving him under the care of her sister, Irene Ruguru.

Ruguru narrated that the school boarding master told him they had managed the deceased well with painkillers and motivational speeches on how being a man was tough.

He subsequently died in an ICU. Kennedy was born a brilliant boy.

His good performance in school led Equity Bank to take him under its Wings to Fly programme.

JNK died seven years ago.

In the case, his guardian, Ruguru, argued that the senseless beating claimed his life.   On February 26, 2019, Kennedy, alongside two other students, was out to wash their faces when their mathematics teacher got in.

Ruguru said that Mwai was furious that the trio had walked in late, and he took a hockey stick and randomly started clobbering them.

Ruguru, in her case, narrated that JNK was small-bodied; thus, he received the bigger share of the beating as they rushed in to sit.

“The petitioner managed to pull himself to the desk and the mathematics lesson went on as normal even though the petitioner was in severe pain, which made it impossible for him to concentrate,” Rurugu testified.

When the pain failed to ease, he went to the school nurse who prescribed some painkillers.

According to the court record, the boy was taken to Tenri Children Hospital, Embu, the following day by the nurse and the teacher on duty. A scan revealed that he had a fractured left leg.

“The doctor advised that the petitioner be admitted to the hospital for further observation but the nurse and the teacher refused and insisted on taking him back to school, holding the view that it was unnecessary,” the guardian continued to say.

The situation did not change. This time, the guardian further stated that the school directed Mwai to take the boy to Embu Level Five Hospital. Here, she says, he was treated, given some crutches and they both returned to school.

According to her, the boy got worse a week later, prompting his class teacher to call her. “The petitioner was not only in extreme pain, but his skin had darkened; he could neither talk nor eat and moved with extreme difficulty,” she testified, adding that the class teacher claimed Kennedy had fallen.

She claimed that, on request that the boy should leave school for treatment, the boarding master refused, saying that the school was managing him well with painkillers motivation speeches on the toughness of manhood.

Kennedy’s guardian told the court that the boy was again taken to Tiren Hospital, and after a back-and-forth on who was to bear the cost, Kangaru agreed to pay. He was taken to the ICU, but the hospital informed her that they could no longer handle him. Ruguru then reported the incident to the police in Embu.

He was transferred to Nairobi Women’s Hospital, where he succumbed. According to her, after the post-mortem was done, the school administration abandoned her. At the same time, the police told her that they could not proceed with investigations, as the cause of death was different from the injuries he had sustained.

The saga did not end there; she said that TSC acknowledged what Mwai had done and fired him for administering corporal punishment to minors.

She said the death was due to the trauma Kennedy sustained after the beating.

Ruguru accused TSC of failing to guarantee the deceased a safe academic environment while the teacher allegedly caused him pain, which allegedly activated the disease which eventually took his life.

She wanted the court to find the school, the commission and the AG liable for Mwai’s actions. At the same time, Ruguru is seeking orders that the beating was against the deceased’s right to health, not to be treated in an inhuman manner and the right to life.

In response, Mwai argued that there was no evidence to sustain the beating story, as there were no fractures or tissue injuries. At the same time, he claimed that students who were beaten alongside the deceased allegedly claimed they had been instructed what they were to say and were bought a Sh1000 lunch.

He admitted that he was interdicted by the commission for administering corporal punishment.

Mwai, however, insisted that he had nothing to do with his former student’s death.

TSC, on the other hand, told the court that it had taken all steps to stop corporal punishment.