A teachers' union has appealed to parents to stop holding protests in schools, cautioning that they scare teachers and learners.
The Kenya National Union of Teachers was reacting to demos held by parents at Gitithia Primary School in Lari, Kiambu, last Friday.
They were demanding the arrest of a teacher alleged to have hit a Standard 6 pupil on the forehead, causing her injuries. Mary Wambui, 12, died at Kenyatta National Hospital on Thursday night.
Her uncle, John Muicigi, said she was washing her hands alongside other pupils when an ECDE teacher chased them away and threw a stick that hit her head.
"The incident happened on February 1, and the girl has been complaining of a headache. We took her to several hospitals, looking for assistance," Muicigi said.
Knut assistant secretary-general Clement Gicharu on Saturday said when parents protest, they also interfere with investigations and instil fear in teachers and pupils.
"We, as a union, condemn those protests and asked parents to sobber up and come up a strategy of approaching such issues, instead of destroying a schools name, scaring tutors and pupils," he said.
However, Lari police commander Stephen Kirui said the ECDE teacher has been arrested and will be arraigned on Monday.
Kirui urged parents to be patient as investigations were ongoing, as they also wait for a postmortem report from a pathologist.
"So far, we have statements being recorded, the teacher is in our custody. We ask parents and residents to remain calm as investigations are ongoing," he said, accompanied by subcounty DCI boss Eunice Maingi.
But Lari Kirenga MCA Joseph Karichu thanked members of the public for coming out in large numbers to protest. He said they kept quiet, there would have been a coverup.
Muicigi said an X-ray conducted at KNH indicated that she had a leaking blood vessel that had a wound on the forehead where she alleged to have been hit.
"We shall lay her to rest next week on Friday, as we wait for investigations to be complete and see justice is served," he said.
