A grade four student at Riang’ombe Primary School in Borabu, Nyamira County, is in critical condition after being brutally caned by his teacher on Sunday.
The 9-year-old boy is said to have been flogged 107 times on the buttocks by his teacher, later identified as Jackson Marucha, after reporting that his school uniforms had been stolen from a clothesline.
Marucha allegedly attempted to conceal the heinous act by confining the boy in a dorm and denying him medical attention after realising the extent of his injuries.
The boy was so badly injured that a chunk of flesh was missing from his buttocks as a result of the incident, and he couldn’t even sit down afterwards.
The abhorrent corporal punishment incident was only revealed after the boy’s classmates informed the minor’s uncle, who had gone to see him at school, of his predicament.
Prior to the minor’s classmates’ revelation, the school administration reportedly barred the boy’s uncle from seeing him.
The boy, who is currently being treated at Nyamira Referral Hospital, told medical staff that Marucha mercilessly attacked him despite his pleas for mercy.
Kenyans on Twitter, led by former Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko, demanded the teacher’s immediate arrest after the story went viral.
A multi-agency team comprised of DCI detectives, police from a nearby precinct, and Ministry of Education officials has since questioned the school’s head teacher Isabella Kumenda and four of her subordinates.
Ms. Kumenda claims to have been away from the school when the incident occurred, but questions have been raised about why she took so long to report the incident.
The five teachers are being held at Manga Police Station, while the perpetrator of the flogging, Jackson Marucha, remains at large.
