- Ahmed Hassan tells court he was informed teacher Abdullahi Abdi was in a relationship with a Class Seven pupil
- Says he visited the home of the girl when he learnt that the mother was ailing and could not come to school
Image: CAROLYNE KUBWA
A former primary school head teacher was put to task on Wednesday to explain why he visited a pupil’s home after he got information that a teacher had defiled her.
Ahmed Hassan told senior principal magistrate Grace Mmasi that he was informed teacher Abdullahi Abdi was in a relationship with a Class Seven pupil and had impregnated her.
He said he visited the home of the girl when he learnt that the mother was ailing and could not come to school.
But Abdi through his lawyer asked him why he could not have called any other relative to come to school instead of storming their home to confirm what he had been told.
Hassan told the court that he was the head teacher of the school when the incident occurred.
“After the investigations from the relevant authorities were concluded, Abdullahi Abdi was dismissed from the school,” Hassan said.
He was put to task by Abdi's lawyer to explain why after the matter was reported to him on March 14, 2008, he went to the home of the girl instead of reporting the to investigation committees.
Hassan told the court that as a member of the community, there is a time when a visit to homes is part of their work.
The witness said the matter was reported to him by the area education officer who received information from the parents.
He confirmed that the teacher in question was the victim’s class teacher.
The witness said he was informed the teacher had seduced the girl promising to give her exam materials.
He said the victim was from a poor family and the teacher was an invigilator.
“I asked the teacher and he denied the allegations. I also questioned other girls in the class,” Hassan said.
He was testifying in the case where Abdi has sued TSC for illegally firing him for allegedly getting the child pregnant.
Last year, Abdi told Employment and Labour Relations Court that he was employed by the Teachers Service Commission in 1994 with a gross salary of Sh23,364 before being interdicted in 2008.
The commission had accused him of defiling a Standard Seven pupil and impregnating her. But Abdi said he requested for a DNA test to establish paternity after the pupil gave birth, but the TSC ignored his request without any reasonable ground. He urged the court to compel the TSC to pay his terminal benefits and reinstate him.
“I was not accorded an opportunity to question the complainant on the allegations that were facing me at any given time. Actually, there was no evidence produced to show that I sexually assaulted the pupil and that I was responsible for her pregnancy," he told the court.
Abdi said he appeared before the commission's disciplinary committee on May 23, 2009, but the complainant or her relatives were not present, hence the meeting was adjourned. He added that the second meeting was in August 2009 and, again, the pupil or her parents did not show up, but the commission went ahead and fired him.
Abdi accused the TSC of only relying on hearsay and questioned why the complainant never reported to the authorities given the weight of the accusation.