Why school sex pests evade the whip as TSC devolves discipline

Parents, Guardians, Alumni and members of the civil society demonstrate in solidarity outside Moi Girls School, Nairobi calling for thorough investigations, arrests of the culprits and an end to sexual abuse in schools. June 4, 2018. [Jonah Onyango, Standard]

The complicated process of gathering evidence and a rigid disciplinary procedure frustrates action against sex pests in schools.

Headteachers interviewed by the Sunday Standard cited the delay in processing DNA results in the Moi Girls School, Nairobi, rape investigation despite the entire government machinery being directed at the case.

“If a school at the city centre with all the government machinery and close to the best hospitals in the country takes more than three days to identify who assaulted a child, what would happen in a village school?” asked one of the principals in Nairobi.

“As a principal in a village school how am I supposed to handle this case, with the help of local leaders and a thin security team and no TV cameras?” said a principal in a school in Western Kenya. School heads interviewed said most of them opt to ignore sexual offence cases because the disciplinary process is frustrating and evidence is always interfered with.

The heads said the perpetrators and in some cases security officials usually collude with family members to cover up the offences.

“I once set up a trap to arrest one of the suspects and invited the police and the girls’ parents. But after they walked out of my office, the teacher was released,” said a principal of a school in Nyeri.

Demoralised

And a principal of one of the top schools in Rift Valley region said she was demoralised and bore the consequences of her actions. 

“The staff room became hostile to me for having taken action. They started to sabotage me just because I punished one of them,” she said.

The confessions of school heads brings to the fore the challenges that stand in the way of ensuring safety and security of female students in schools.

This week, media reports have been awash with cases of rape, with some students reported missing.

On Thursday this week, the body of a pupil who was allegedly defiled was found in Kigumo. The nine-year-old was a pupil at Thamara Primary School.

In Kaiti Constituency, Makueni County, residents petitioned authorities to take action against 21 people accused of defiling a 15-year-old girl. Among the accused are a teacher, a retired civil servant, boda boda operator and a hotel worker.

The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) is already implementing new disciplinary guidelines expected to quicken the process but victims still reel in pain as perpetrators walk free.

The new TSC guidelines assigns disciplinary roles to deputy county directors and sub-county directors.

Previously, only TSC county directors could interdict teachers. County staffs at lower levels now play key roles in determining discipline cases.  

[email protected]