Riara Pupil accused of rape

• the suspect, who lives in Nyayo Embakasi estate, has two rape cases against him.
• His parents are said to be well connected with the police.

The Riara School has been accused of intimidating the police and helping cover up a sexual assault case involving one of its male pupils.

An administrator and ICT manager at Riara Springs Primary School in Nairobi’s Imara Daima are said to be shielding a 14-year-old pupil from facing the law after he allegedly sexually assaulted a four-year-old girl on October 28.

The matter was reported at Embakasi Police Station under OB number 65/28/10/7, where the suspect, who lives in Nyayo Embakasi estate, has two rape cases against him.

The first case (OB number 52/4/4/07) is already in court. In the second case, the boy was arrested and arraigned at the Juvenile Court in Makadara. The case is coming up for hearing on November 16. He is out on bond in both cases.

Police at the Embakasi station cannot take any action in the recent sexual assault since the boy’s mother, an administrator at Riara School, and his father, an ICT manager at the same school, are said to be well connected with the police.

“We tried taking action but received orders from above to go slow on the case. Our hands are tied and we can’t do anything,” said a senior cop at Embakasi Police Station.

According to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations medical examination report, the four-year-old girl was raped at the estate, behind a block of apartments by a person known to her.

The report is signed by medical officer reference number PS 21528/17. The medical officer noted upon examination that there was no discharge from the little girl, but there was laceration, bruises and inflammation.

“The mother reports that the rape survivor, four years old, says that a young man in the neighbourhood usually removes her clothes, and this was the second time,” said the post-rape care form.

Further tests revealed the girl to be HIV negative but the urine and wet pap high vaginal swab revealed pus cells. The minor was attended to at Embakasi AAR clinic before being referred to the Gender Violence Recovery Centre in Nairobi where she was attended to in the presence of a police constable.

The girl’s father couldn’t stop shedding tears as he narrated the ordeal her daughter went through.

 “A neighbour was looking out through his window when he saw the boy dragging the girl behind an apartment block. He got curious since the boy already had two other rape cases against him, so he followed the boy and found him sexually assaulting the four-year-old girl.

“The boy took off upon being found, and the man followed him up to his mother’s house. He burst into the house and found the boy in the sitting room. Out of anger, he slapped the boy several times, before the boy’s mother came out of the bedroom and denied everything the boy was accused of. The boy’s mother then went to police and filed an assault case against the man and the man was arrested,” he said in his statement to the police.

The Nairobian contacted John Muriithi Muriuki, the head teacher of Riara Springs Primary School who said he had no information about the incident as “I have not been informed of such, but please, if the boy’s parents work here and are interfering with police investigations, give me their names and contacts. I will talk to them and get back to you. But all I can say right now is that I have not heard of that case.”

Riara Group of Schools executive director, Allan Gachukia said he can’t get involved.

“Please speak to the group chairman. I don’t know those things,” he said before hanging up, but the group chairman was ailing and couldn’t be reached.

Embakasi OCPD Onyango Mangira said the boy will be arrested as soon as investigations are completed and denied the suspect’s parents were interfering with the investigations.

“It is wrong to insinuate that we are reluctant to take action,” said Onyango. “This is a matter that involves certain processes before executing an arrest. It is true that a complaint has been made that he defiled a minor. I am aware the suspect has been charged in court with a similar offence.”