CS Machogu: Teachers Brutalizing Pupils Will Be Fired and Prosecuted
Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu has strongly condemned the increasing cases of corporal punishment inflicted on pupils by certain teachers in Kisii and Nyamira counties in Kenya.
Mr. Machogu referred to these teachers as criminals and called for their immediate arrest by the police. In an interview with the Nation on Thursday,
Machogu expressed his distress over the recent incidents of brutality reported in the two counties and warned that those found guilty would face termination of their employment and prosecution for causing harm to the pupils.
“This is so disturbing and criminal! It is no longer an educational matter, it is a criminal matter, if a teacher goes to that extent, then he is a criminal and he is no longer a teacher,” said Mr Machogu.
The Kisii County Police Commander, Charles Kases, confirmed that three teachers involved in the latest incident had been arrested on Wednesday and would be charged in court later that day. However, one teacher and a security guard were still at large.
The incident in question involved a 19-year-old secondary school student who shared a heart-wrenching story of being tortured by five teachers and a security guard, resulting in the loss of one of his testicles.
Doctors confirmed that the testicle had ruptured due to the severity of the beating and had to be surgically removed at a hospital in Kisii town.
Mr. Machogu expressed outrage at such acts of violence by teachers against their students, stating that those involved were not fit to be called teachers, but rather criminal brutes who resorted to jungle law.
He emphasized that teachers have clear guidelines and duties, and inflicting serious injuries on young students, such as permanent damage to their reproductive organs, is unacceptable and criminal.
Mr. Machogu called for the law to take its course and for the perpetrators to be punished accordingly, including dismissal from service after due process.
The CS for Education emphasized that the Ministry would not tolerate any extra-legal actions by teachers that contravene the code of conduct and guidelines set by the Ministry of Education.
He cited Article 29 of the Constitution of Kenya on Freedom and Security of Citizens, which explicitly prohibits corporal punishment, torture, or cruel punishment. Mr. Machogu expressed concern over the extreme cases of brutality by teachers in Kisii and Nyamira counties in recent weeks, including incidents where pupils were castrated as a result of corporal punishment.
One such incident involved a Standard Eight pupil at Bitundugusu Primary School who was reportedly brutalized by his teachers, resulting in swelling of his scrotum and subsequent surgery and removal of one of his testicles.
The incident took place in Kitutu Masaba Constituency, and the boy was admitted to a private health facility in Kisii County where doctors found irreparable damage to his testicle due to ‘testicular torsion’.
In another shocking incident two weeks ago, a Grade Four student at Riang’ombe Adventist Primary Boarding School was brutally beaten and suffered serious injuries.
The nine-year-old student allegedly received 107 strokes of the cane for reporting the theft of his clothes from the boarding house, resulting in a deep gash and muscle breakage on his buttocks.
The police in Nyamira have been intensifying their search for the main suspect in this incident, while five other suspects, including the boarding master, headteacher, deputy headteacher, class 4 teacher, and matron, have been questioned.
Mr. Machogu reiterated the gravity of these incidents and emphasized that such violence against students by teachers is criminal and unacceptable. He called for strict adherence to the Ministry of Education’s code of conduct and guidelines, and for appropriate legal action to be taken against those who violate these principles.
CS Machogu: Teachers Brutalizing Pupils Will Be Fired and Prosecuted