Principal takes rat poison after sex with schoolgirl in Vihiga

Teachers were left in shock after a deputy principal confessed to sleeping with a schoolgirl at a lodge in Vihiga.

A mob in Lugaga village attacked a deputy headteacher of the school after word went round that he had allegedly slept with the form-four girl.

Later, out of shame, the father of 10 children took rat poison in an attempt to commit suicide, witnesses said.

His life was however saved after he was rushed to a Kitale hospital in time.

Several teachers who visited the school administrator at the Vihiga hospital said he had admitted to spending a night with the 19-year-old KCSE candidate.

The 53-year-old is reported to have said: "I cannot say that it was the work of the devil. I did spend the night with the student in a hotel."

Later, after being discharged from hospital, furious parents marched to Mbihi Secondary School demanding for his dismissal.

Several parents told The Nairobian that the deputy principal had set a bad example for teachers.

"We are no longer sure of our children's safety when teachers  are spending time with them in lodgings," a parent said.

The teenager told The Nairobian that the sex was consensual.

The student said she had planned to meet her teacher in Chavakali, a town near the school after leaving her home.

She claimed she had been sent home by the school for medical check-up because she has been experiencing irregular menstrual flow.

"When I left school, the deputy principal gave me a phone and told me he would call me after receiving treatment. We met at Chavakali later that evening. When the deputy principal took me to the lodge, I could not sleep for the better part of the night as he worked on me...," she said.

"I gave in because he promised to marry me after school."

Her father said a friend of the family called and told him that the girl had been spotted in Chavakali town.

"I couldn't sleep for the whole night because I was worried," the man said.

After calling the matron and confirming that his daughter was absent, the father went to the school the next morning to wait for her.

She later arrived on a boda boda and the man immediately confronted and roughed her up.

He was stopped from hurting the girl by a surging crowd.

"It is sad that this happened after struggling so much to raise money for her fee and keep her in school for four years. I hope justice will be done," he said.

The crowd gathered at the school after word went round that the deputy principal had slept with the KCSE candidate.

Witnesses claimed the school administrator saw the crowd and took off.  He later allegedly attempted to commit suicide in his Kitale home.

TSC director in the region, Francis Ngware, told The Nairobian they were going to discipline the teacher if found guilty.

"We are going to have a board meeting at the school, where we will question both the teacher and the student," he said.

The student and her parents have since recorded statements at a Vihiga Police Station.

Police may however not prefer any charges against the deputy principal since the girl is over 18.

If proven guilty, TSC may take action against the administrator for violation of professional ethics.