By Talarus Chesang
Two Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) candidates from Poi Mixed Day-Boarding Secondary School in Baringo North Sub-county missed exams over alleged theft of mattresses at the school.
Benson Chebii and Bismark Ruto failed to sit their last agriculture paper two exam, blaming the school principal Natanga Nyongesa for ordering police manning exams to beat, harass and forcing them to admit the offense while threatening with arrests.
The third suspect Mark Keitany who also ran away came back to write his final exam paper and later luckily slipping from the hands of police officers.
“That morning on Thursday, we woke up in jovial mood hoping that we would finish our KCSE exams well,” Ruto, a day scholar at the institution said.
“If we fail to get our KCSE results then it means our live have just been spoiled like that for no apparent reason,” Chebii said.
He said they were just relaxing their minds in school that morning awaiting the paper when they were suddenly called to the principal’s office, only to be asked to surrender the two mattresses they stole from the school store.
“Although we honestly told him that we never committed the offence, they ordered us to kneel down, beating us before asking police to arrest us” Ruto said.
Further, the boy said they were escorted by police to their dormitory and the rented house where they did a thorough search but could not find the said stolen mattresses.
He said they were told to go back to class while police from Moikutwo Administration Police camp were ordered to bring handcuffs to arrest them, but fearing to be detained for no mistake; “we had to take to disappear and ran for our lives,” he said.
“I am a day scholar living with my brother at Poi Trading Centre and I even wonder how I would have managed to sneak into school store to steal a mattress under the watch of the store keeper or the school watchman,” Ruto said.
Baringo North Sub-county Education Officer, Kiprono Lagat, confirmed the incident saying the two boys will never again get another chance to sit for the agriculture paper.
“Unless their parents appeal to the Ministry of Education and KNEC so the students can sit the exam next year,” he said.
The boys and their parents are now appealing to Education Cabinet Secretary Professor Magoha to intervene and investigate the matter.
“Because surely how can my child fail to write his final exam just because of a mere stolen mattress, even if they stole, they should have been left to finish their paper then we parents can be called to pay,” a devastated James Kiptala said. He is one of the parents.
He reiterated that his child was day scholar, wondering how he managed to sneak into school to steal a mattress from the school store.
Another parent, Pamela Ruto, accused the school administration for harassing her child and making him to miss his final exam.
“The principal told me that my son feared exams and disappeared. I sold all the family’s parcel of land and livestock to pay him school fees thinking he could finish his studies and come home to assist me but what are these I am hearing now?” she questioned.
She added that amid the pain, the government should intervene and assist her and her son get justice.
Milka Rotumoi, a paralegal activist Pamela was working on her farm heard about the incident before inquiring to find out more about the case.
“I was surprised to learn that they ran away, leaving their exams after police threatened them over allegation that they stole mattresses,” she said.
Rotumoi termed the case as unfortunate, calling upon humanitarian agencies to intervene and assist the affected families to get justice.
