Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu has strongly condemned the recent surge in corporal punishment cases in Kisii and Nyamira counties. In an interview with the Nation, Machogu described the teachers responsible as criminals who should be immediately apprehended by the police.
The Cabinet Secretary expressed deep concern over the recent brutal incidents in the two counties and warned that the teachers involved would face dismissal and prosecution for harming students.
Machogu’s remarks came as Kisii police announced the arrest of three teachers implicated in the latest case of corporal punishment. “We arrested three teachers on Wednesday, who are all employed by the board. They will be charged in court later on Thursday. One teacher and a security guard are still at large,” said Kisii County Police Commander Charles Kases.
The latest case involved a secondary school student who recounted a harrowing tale of torture by his teachers, ultimately resulting in the loss of a testicle. The incident occurred at Nyabisia Secondary School in Nyamache Division, Bobasi Constituency.
The 19-year-old student reported that he was brutally attacked by five teachers and a school security guard, which led to the rupture of one of his testicles. The injured organ was subsequently removed at Hema Hospital in Kisii town.
Machogu emphasized that those responsible should not be considered teachers, but rather criminals who resort to barbaric methods when dealing with students.
“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,” Machogu said. He reminded teachers that they have clear guidelines regarding their duties, and brutalizing children is not one of them.
Machogu declared that those involved are criminals and should be punished by law. He insisted that the Ministry of Education would not tolerate actions that contravene its code of conduct and guidelines.
Article 29 of the Kenyan Constitution, which guarantees citizens’ freedom and security, explicitly prohibits corporal punishment, torture, or cruel punishment.
In recent weeks, Kisii and Nyamira counties have experienced extreme cases of brutality by some teachers, with two students suffering severe injuries resulting in castration.
Last week, a Standard Eight pupil at Bitundugusu Primary School reportedly endured abuse from his teachers, which caused his scrotum to swell and necessitated the removal of a testicle.
The incident occurred at Bitundugusu Primary School in Kitutu Masaba Constituency, and the injured student was admitted to Bosongo Hospital, a private facility in Kisii County. Medical staff informed the Nation that the boy arrived at the hospital with severely swollen reproductive organs.
Doctors determined that one of his testicles was irreparably damaged due to testicular torsion, which required surgery to alleviate the boy’s intense pain.
In another gruesome incident two weeks prior, a Grade Four student at Riang’ombe Adventist Primary Boarding School was savagely beaten and left with life-altering injuries. The nine-year-old was allegedly given 107 strokes of the cane after reporting the theft of his clothes from the boarding house.
The severity of the injuries caused a deep gash and a broken muscle, leaving a crater on the boy’s buttocks. The primary suspect remains at large, but police in Nyamira have intensified their search and questioned five individuals, including the boarding master, the headteacher, his deputy, the class 4 teacher, and the matron.