Kenya’s Deep-Rooted Corporal Punishment Tradition: The Rising Tide of Violence
Caleb Mwangi endured severe beatings at his school for taking extra food at breakfast that it necessitated placing him in an induced coma, which led to an 11-day stay in an intensive care unit.
Fred Mwangi informed the BBC that upon his arrival, his son was unable to exit his bed and had lost his ability to communicate.
This traumatic incident occurred almost two years ago, when Caleb was 13 years old. Now, sitting between his parents on their living room couch in Mombasa, he admits to occasionally zoning out and wrestling with bursts of anger, occasionally lashing out at the wall.
These emotional and physical consequences stem from the trauma he endured during his near-death experience. Mr. Mwangi encourages his son to stand and lift his white undershirt, exposing a thick, angry scar that spans the width and length of his back.
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The wounds ran so deep that a surgeon had to extract substantial pieces of skin from Caleb’s thighs for use in skin grafts.
Agnes Mutiri, Caleb’s mother, reportedly displayed distressing images of her son on her phone, stating, “This is him in the hospital.” The pictures depicted Caleb lying face down on a bed, with numerous lacerations evident on his legs, back, arms, and even his face, with the total count reaching nearly 100.
In the photos, Caleb lies face down on a bed, bearing lacerations on his legs, back, arms, and even his face, totaling nearly 100 wounds. “His entire body was covered in injuries.”
The tradition of corporal punishment in Kenyan schools has deep historical roots, dating back to the times when missionaries and colonizers employed it to establish their authority.
In 2001, the Kenyan government banned this practice in schools, but changing people’s attitudes has proven to be a difficult task.
According to the most recent Violence Against Children report, a national household survey from 2019, over half of Kenyan individuals aged 18 to 24 believe that teachers using corporal punishment is necessary.
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BBC Africa Eye has discovered a troubling report of an increase in the number of cases. Caleb’s experience points to Nancy Gachewa, the director of the Gremon Education Centre in Bamburi, near Mombasa, as the one who initiated the beating and instructed other students to continue it.
Ms. Gachewa denies these allegations, stating that she was not present at the school during the incident. Caleb explains, “I was so hungry; I took five chapatis and ate them with tea.”
The authorities arrested and charged Ms. Gachewa and an older student named Idd Salim with assault and causing grievous bodily harm. Last year, Salim received a four-year prison sentence and has since testified against Ms. Gachewa in court as part of a plea bargain. The case against her is ongoing.
Although Caleb’s case is particularly horrifying, it is unfortunately not an isolated incident. An employee at the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) spoke with BBC Africa Eye on the condition of anonymity, revealing that in the past three years, reports of the most severe school beatings have surged from seven to 29.
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They reported that it was evolving into a crisis and that they believed it was getting increasingly unmanageable.
Children have suffered injuries and maiming in some instances, ultimately resulting in severe outcomes, including fatalities.
People hide these incidents and keep them from becoming public knowledge. Often, by the time these cases come to our attention, someone has tampered with a significant amount of evidence.
BBC Africa Eye attempted to contact the TSC to address these allegations but received no response.
Most people find it challenging to grasp that educators, entrusted with students’ safety, could be responsible for students losing their lives. Nonetheless, in the past five years, the media has reported more than 20 deaths linked to school beatings.
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One of the victims is believed to be Ebbie Noelle Samuels, a fifteen-year-old student. Ebbie attended Gatanga CCM Secondary School in Murang’a County as a boarder.
On March 9, 2019, the school called Ebbie’s mother, Martha Wanjiro Samuels, to inform her that her daughter had been hospitalized due to illness. When she reached the hospital, Ebbie had already passed away.
The school asserted that she had died in her sleep, but witnesses claimed that the deputy principal had physically assaulted her because of her hairstyle.
Ms. Samuels reported that the autopsy indicated a severe head injury and blunt force trauma, suggesting that someone had struck her, resulting in her fatality. She campaigned for four years to have her daughter’s death thoroughly investigated.
In January of the previous year, authorities arrested Elizabeth Wairimu Gatimu, the former deputy principal of Ebbie’s school, on murder charges. She has denied the accusations.
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Ms. Samuels stated that she would persist in her efforts to secure justice for her child as long as she remained alive.
She firmly asserted that she would not allow herself to be silenced or give up, underscoring her unwavering commitment to persist as long as she remained alive. She also mentioned that she was still awaiting the case’s outcome.
BBC Africa Eye sought an interview with the Kenyan Ministry of Education, but no one was willing to comment.
One organization actively pushing for change is Beacon Teachers Africa. In collaboration with the TSC, the non-governmental organization Plan International launched it in Kenya four years ago. Their goal is to empower teachers to safeguard children in schools and their communities.
Beacon Teachers Africa has now established a network of 50,000 teachers across 47 African countries. Robert Omwa is one of 3,000 Beacon teachers in Kenya. In addition to educating children about their rights, he conducts workshops to train teachers in non-corporal methods of discipline.
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He expressed initial skepticism, believing it to be a Western ideology where he thought that corporal punishment was necessary for African children. However, upon trying the alternative approach, he experienced a sense of relief as an educator, felt a weight lifted, and observed that children were more drawn to him.
Meanwhile, in Mombasa, Caleb and his family are anxiously awaiting the verdict in the case involving their school director. Gachewa has pleaded not guilty.
The 15-year-old still struggles to come to terms with what happened to him. He said, “For me to attain justice, I want this woman to be imprisoned.”
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Kenya’s Deep-Rooted Corporal Punishment Tradition: The Rising Tide of Violence