Time has marched on. A class 8 girl who was allegedly defiled and impregnated by a school head teacher, a neighbor, well-known to her in December 2017 gave birth a-week ago as she and her family wait for justice.
When the Standard started making follow-ups on the case 6 months back, Makueni County Commissioner Maalim Mohammed assured us that he child will be assisted to report the case to police and a court proceeding follow, but “Mumbua”-a pen name to protect the victim’s identity, has received no justice.
Yesterday when we visited her, we found she had walked to Kilala dispensary, in Ukia ward, Kaiti constituency, Makueni County, a facility located about 15 kilometers away. We waited since morning till 2pm when she appeared, holding her 7-day-old baby on her chest, no carrier, tired and sweating out the scorching sun, with no umbrella. The errant teacher had allegedly dragged the girl into his house when his wife was away before defiling her with a Sh50 reward to buy her innocence. However, it turned out later that she was pregnant following suspicion from her female teachers necessitating them to send her to the clinic for a compulsory pregnancy test which turned positive.
According to the girl, the teacher had defiled her severally from his office in 2017 threatening her not to reveal owing his position when he used to teach her class Swahili before he was transferred to a near-by school. This would often happen later in the evening when other pupils had left school in false pretense of “special” attention to brighten the girl’s future.
When “Mumbua” pseudonym (pictured above), recollected, she narrated that the teacher had soiled her dream of becoming a doctor saying even if she will go back to school in October to sit for her Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE), she might not perform as before. “I wanted to become a doctor but now my dreams have gone into flames, although, I may go back to school to sit for my KCPE examination papers but I might not perform as I anticipated”, said “Mumbua” amid cries of the baby with momentarily cutting the interview to breastfeed it.
The distressed girl, fifth born in a family of six, often has her fellow pupil taunt her of her current condition as they pass-by from school which is 300 meters away something that has affected her self-esteem. The mother of the girl, Ann Nduku John (pictured), says the girl fell a victim of sexual exploitation at the hands of the government employee due to their low family status adding that her daughter’s ambitions of acquiring a university degree were “shattered”. However, she added that 9 months later, her daughter remains in distraught state. She has always being in nightmares.
Mother to allegedly defiled and impregnated class 8 pupil goes on with her daily chores at her homestead at Kaiti, Makueni County.
Amid sobs, she decried delayed justice noting that other pupils had reported back to school in third term but hers was at home with an added “burden”. “I’m the family breadwinner, a single mother, and this is now a burden added since I have other children in school to pay fees for, the teacher should be held responsible for his deeds since he is a teacher by profession and knows what he did was wrong”, the woman said while striking marbles heaped at her compound to sell to a near-by construction site. She blamed police officers at Makueni police station for taking her into circles without siring any results. “I constantly visited the police station, although we recorded a statement but a police officer at the Report and Inquiry Desk told us the vehicle had no fuel and we should use the village head man to apprehend the accused”, she said. However, without getting tired she maintained her consistent visits but she was scared again after another officer threatened her with the underlying financial implications of DNA tests if the case proceeds to court. Further, she said: “The teacher is walking scot-free, the headman Iwas told to arrest him is a friend of the victim, and how do you expect him to arrest his closest friend? I feel have been denied justice since this is an awful crime committed on my child”. At Makueni police station, OCPD Bosita Omukholongolo couldn’t explain why 5 months later they hadn’t arrested the victim. Conversely, he admitted that the case had been reported saying they will put efforts in place for the teacher to be arrested any time.
It’s unfortunate the culprit has not been arrested. Every effort has been initiated and the suspect is likely to be arrested any time”, said Bosita. The girl’s hope hangs on the police pendulum. The Standard can report confidently that the teacher attended to his duties at Nthimbani primary school till the closure of term 2, an informer at the school reported. At the folding of last term, 6 teachers were interdicted in Makueni with the County Teachers Service Commission (TSC) Director Lois Murrey revealing that the teacher in question was still under investigations to ascertain his conduct. Time has marched on. A class 8 girl who was allegedly defiled and impregnated by a school head teacher, a neighbor, well-known to her in December 2017 gave birth a-week ago as she and her family wait for justice. When the Standard started making follow-ups on the case 6 months back, Makueni County Commissioner Maalim Mohammed assured us that he child will be assisted to report the case to police and a court proceeding follow, but “Mumbua”-a pen name to protect the victim’s identity, has received no justice. Yesterday when we visited her, we found she had walked to Kilala dispensary, in Ukia ward, Kaiti constituency, Makueni County, a facility located about 15 kilometers away. We waited since morning till 2pm when she appeared, holding her 7-day-old baby on her chest, no carrier, tired and sweating out the scorching sun, with no umbrella.
The errant teacher had allegedly dragged the girl into his house when his wife was away before defiling her with a Sh50 reward to buy her innocence. However, it turned out later that she was pregnant following suspicion from her female teachers necessitating them to send her to the clinic for a compulsory pregnancy test which turned positive.
According to the girl, the teacher had defiled her severally from his office in 2017 threatening her not to reveal owing his position when he used to teach her class Swahili before he was transferred to a near-by school. This would often happen later in the evening when other pupils had left school in false pretense of “special” attention to brighten the girl’s future. When “Mumbua” pseudonym, recollected, she narrated that the teacher had soiled her dream of becoming a doctor saying even if she will go back to school in October to sit for her Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE), she might not perform as before. “I wanted to become a doctor but now my dreams have gone into flames, although, I may go back to school to sit for my KCPE examination papers but I might not perform as I anticipated”, said “Mumbua” amid cries of the baby with momentarily cutting the interview to breastfeed it. The distressed girl, fifth born in a family of six, often has her fellow pupil taunt her of her current condition as they pass-by from school which is 300 meters away something that has affected her self-esteem. The mother of the girl, Ann Nduku John, says the girl fell a victim of sexual exploitation at the hands of the government employee due to their low family status adding that her daughter’s ambitions of acquiring a university degree were “shattered”. However, she added that 9 months later, her daughter remains in distraught state. She has always being in nightmares.
Botched justice
Amid sobs, she decried delayed justice noting that other pupils had reported back to school in third term but hers was at home with an added “burden”. “I’m the family breadwinner, a single mother, and this is now a burden added since I have other children in school to pay fees for, the teacher should be held responsible for his deeds since he is a teacher by profession and knows what he did was wrong”, the woman said while striking marbles heaped at her compound to sell to a near-by construction site. She blamed police officers at Makueni police station for taking her into circles without siring any results. “I constantly visited the police station, although we recorded a statement but a police officer at the Report and Inquiry Desk told us the vehicle had no fuel and we should use the village head man to apprehend the accused”, she said.
‘Untouchable’
However, without getting tired she maintained her consistent visits but she was scared again after another officer threatened her with the underlying financial implications of DNA tests if the case proceeds to court. Further, she said: “The teacher is walking scot-free, the headman Iwas told to arrest him is a friend of the victim, and how do you expect him to arrest his closest friend? I feel have been denied justice since this is an awful crime committed on my child”. At Makueni police station, OCPD Bosita Omukholongolo couldn’t explain why 5 months later they hadn’t arrested the victim. Conversely, he admitted that the case had been reported saying they will put efforts in place for the teacher to be arrested any time. “It’s unfortunate the culprit has not been arrested. Every effort has been initiated and the suspect is likely to be arrested any time”, said Bosita. The girl’s hope hangs on the police pendulum. The Standard can report confidently that the teacher attended to his duties at Nthimbani primary school till the closure of term 2, an informer at the school reported. At the folding of last term, 6 teachers were interdicted in Makueni with the County Teachers Service Commission (TSC) Director Lois Murrey revealing that the teacher in question was still under investigations to ascertain his conduct.
Courtesy of The Standard