A junior secondary school teacher narrowly escaped lynching after he was caught raping a grade 7 pupil in a maize plantation in Nandi County, Kenya.
The teacher Eric Rotich, 38, was fished out
of the maize farm by irate members of the public who found him defiling the
girl at the weekend.
The teacher had parked his motorcycle on a
roadside after waylaying the pupil who was heading home with maize flour from a
posho mill.
The public was attracted by distressed cries
from the girl calling for help from the maize farm.
Tindiret sub-county police commander Mohammed
Jireh, confirmed the arrest of the teacher on Sunday, July 2, 2023, saying he
would face the law.
"The victim was taken to Meteitei
sub-district hospital for treatment and for further investigations because this
a serious matter and the suspect will face the law,” Jireh said.
According to the Soba location Chief William
Lulei, the suspect together with the defiled child was handed to him by members
of the public.
They took them to Songhor police station
where the teacher is expected to appear at the Maraba law courts in Tinderet.
The suspect is a JSS teacher at Sigoria
Junior Secondary School while her victim is a pupil at the neighbouring junior
secondary school.
“The teaching narrowly escaped the public
wrath after he was shielded by police officers who arrived at the scene just on
time after I summoned them,” Lulei revealed.
Tinderet sub-county has the lowest
transitional rate for girls in the Six Nandi sub-counties due to early
marriages and dropouts occasioned by early pregnancies.
An NGO operating in the area “Chalan
Foundation” which supports young mothers to return back to school, says most
school-going girls got impregnated through defilements that were never reported
to authorities.
Margaret Koskei, the foundation chair lady
noted that due to poverty and the harsh environment in Tinderet, families
decide to remain silent and marry off their daughters at tender ages.
"We want to return all young mothers to
school, many have returned through our efforts and have even completed
University education,” Koskei says.
Post a Comment