Cover-up? School probed for assault claims

A classroom. [File, Standard]

Parents and human rights activists have accused a special school in Nyakach, Kisumu County, of subjecting pupils with disability to physical and sexual assault.

A cook in the school is said to have defiled a number of children, while some teachers and subordinate staff have been accused of beating up the pupils, amid claims of a cover-up.

Education officials, the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR), and the National Gender and Equality Commission (NGEC) are currently investigating the allegations.

Nyanza Regional Education Director Richard Chepkawai yesterday said he was aware of the complaints and had sent a team to the school sponsored by the Catholic church to investigate.

“We have launched investigations and we will give a report. We will take action if the allegations are proven true,” said Chepkawai.

A parent whose 15-year-old son was allegedly assaulted at the school on June 11 i  among those  crying for justice.

She said she was informed by the school administration that her son was involved in an accident in which he was pushed by another pupil off his wheelchair and that he was very ill.

She said when she took the boy to Rum Hospital in Kisii, the medics confirmed that he had suffered a lower jaw fracture that could have resulted from being hit.

But school headteacher, Beatrice Agutu, Catholic nun, denied the allegations of assault and asked those with complaints to report them to the Ministry of Education. She said the school had done all it could to keep the pupils safe.