A case of alleged brutal corporal punishment in a Nairobi primary school has sparked national outrage after a schoolgirl was amputated following a beating she reportedly received from her teacher four years ago.
The girl, a former pupil at a public primary school in Ruai, was allegedly beaten and her leg broken during punishment in class. According to the family, the injury never healed properly. Despite years of pain and treatment in different hospitals, complications worsened until doctors confirmed that her leg had to be amputated to save her life. The amputation has now been done, leaving the young girl disabled for life.
What has shocked Kenyans even more is information going viral on social media alleging that the teacher at the centre of the incident has been threatening the mother of the girl. The mother alleges that she has been warned not to report the matter to the police, with threats that she will be killed if she pursues justice.
The distraught mother has cried out to security organs to step in and protect her family and ensure justice is done to her daughter.
"She has threatened me. She tells me if I report to the police, she will kill me. I am a poor woman; I have no one to defend me. I am asking the police to protect us and help my daughter get justice," the mother said in a viral video.
Her painful story was highlighted on Friday by Nairobi County Environment Chief Officer Geoffrey Mosiria, who visited the family after the amputation.
"This is heartbreaking. This girl was beaten in school four years ago, and her leg was broken. She lived in pain for years, and now her leg has been amputated. Now her mother is being threatened for seeking justice. This is unacceptable," Mosiria said.
Mosiria has made a direct appeal to President William Ruto and security agencies to intervene.
"I am appealing to H.E. President William Ruto as the father of this nation and to our security organs to come to the aid of this girl and her mother. She needs justice, she needs a prosthetic leg, and her mother needs security. No parent should be threatened for seeking justice for her child," Mosiria stated.
The mother says that although her daughter's dreams of a brighter life have been tainted by the disability, the girl still has hope of living a resilient life if she gets support, counselling and a chance to go back to school.
Parents and human rights groups are now demanding immediate investigation, protection for the family, and prosecution of those responsible, saying no child should lose a limb because of school discipline, and no parent should live in fear for reporting abuse.
Corporal punishment was outlawed in Kenya under the Basic Education Act, 2013, but cases of teachers beating pupils continue to be reported across the country.
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