- The deputy head teacher is reported to have taken the pictures of the three pupils last Friday and posted them on the school teachers’ WhatsApp group.
- A government team led by Nyahururu deputy county commissioner Moses Muroki visited the school.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations is probing two senior teachers at Thiru Primary School in Laikipia West after images emerged online of three pupils tied to a tree as punishment.
A government team, led by Nyahururu deputy county commissioner Moses Muroki, arrived at the school yesterday and recorded statements from pupils and teachers.
The school is located about 15km from Nyahururu town. Muroki asked the Laikipia West DCI to investigate headteacher Shelmith Thimba and her deputy David Maina who allegedly tied the three pupils to a tree last Friday as a punishment for truancy and delinquency.
In the pictures that went viral on social media, three pupils are seen tied to a tree in the school compound.
The deputy headteacher is reported to have taken the pictures of the three pupils last Friday and posted them on the school teachers’ WhatsApp group before another teacher leaked them to social media on Tuesday.
“The truth is that the three pupils were tied to a tree Friday last week. It is wrong and we are not happy about it. We feel sorry for the children for whatever they went through. The issue has been taken over by the DCI office for immediate investigations,” Muroki said.
Laikipia county director of children's services Ezekiel Omwansa and Irene Kandenge of the Teachers Service Commission condemned the act, terming it inhumane.
“It is unfortunate that our children can be subjected to such inhumane treatment. This is why we are here as a department to give support to them in terms of child protection intervention," Omwansa said.
He said the department will open a protection and care file and trace the progress and the recovery of the affected pupils.
“This will ensure that the trauma and the humiliation they went through does not recur and affect them in their future lives,” the director said.
He at the same called on teachers to use the laid-down guidelines by the TSC while instilling discipline in children.
“Teachers have guidelines on how to punish children. The TSC and the Ministry of Education have clear guidelines on how to counsel and guide them as they go about the process of learning.
"It is very embarrassing that the whole world is wondering what is happening in Kenya that children can go through such punishment,” Omwansa said.
Kandenge, who is the TSC director in charge of quality and standards in the Rift Valley, said disciplinary action will be taken against the two if found culpable.
“We are condemning what has happened because, as TSC, we advocate child protection, though no one has been declared guilty of any offence. As TSC, we will go through the disciplinary process and anybody found culpable will face disciplinary action,” she said.
Edited by Henry Makori