NAIROBI,Kenya, Sep, 13 – Parents of six girls who were suspended by the Karen C Girls Secondary school are now accusing the institution of causing bodily harm to their young ones.
According to suspension letters seen by Shahidi News, the girls are facing disciplinary action for allegedly peddling drugs in the school.
Six girls have so far been implicated in the alleged incident.
“The question i asked is, if my daughter was cleared to enter, how come now you are saying she is having drugs or is peddling drugs?” said one of the parents.
“I asked the Deputy principal, where is the drug? I would love to see it. They did not have any evidence. So they just told me sign here, go home with your daughter, come on this date that we have requested you to come back,” said another irate parent.
The parents say they have not been asked to record statements by any police officer in regards to allegations of being in possession of drugs.
” What I was shown, was the suspension letter. Reasons for being suspended, yes it had been written there but there was no evidence, because I needed to be shown, this is what your daughter has been caught with, at least, it could have cooled my temper because,i know some times children do bad things while in school. I cannot side with my kid blindly but once it has been investigated, we want to know the truth. What I know is its drugs, I cannot tell you whether it is paracetamol or even heroin,” said another parent.
One of the girls claims that they were coerced into signing a confession that implicated a few other girls.
“i was forced into writing a sworn letter implicating another student. The teacher threatened me, we were locked inside a room ad told to do that,” said one of he students.
The schools’s principal declined to comment.
However, in a phone interview with the Daily Nation she defended the suspension, citing evidence of a drug trade within the school precincts.
“There are things that are sensitive because its drug related. We cant discuss the matter because due process has to take place. And all evidence is there and quite serious, ” said Beatrice Otieno, principal Karen C Secondary School.
While seeking answers from them, the girls claim they were assaulted physically.
One of the students was walking with a limp with visible scars on her face, , legs and back.
Two girls who had serious wounds have been treated, with the parents filing assault charges
“When I came to the school my child was limping, had scars and a black eye, I inquired from the school what had happened but all I was told was I needed to sign a certain forms and leave the school premises with my child. i refused and told them my daughter was not injured when i brought her to school,” said the angry parent.
“I asked the deputy principal, when did you notice this, they told me sooner, then its like watoto waliingia hapa 30th, today is 11th , you are telling me sooner. what she answered me, chukuwa mlevi peleka nyumbani,”
“I attempted to inquire when this happened and all the deputy principal told me was, sooner….I asked what do you mean sooner..shortly after she told me to take my drunk child and take her home,”
The students had returned back to school on Aug, 30 yet the incident is said to have happened between then and September 11, 2021 with the students allegedly sneaking out of school.
In her interview with the Daily Nation however, the principal defended the school’s course of action.
“That is not true, absolutely not true… you see, when something happens, they want to seek sympathy. it happens and it is something we are used to. being an admin, even you when your child amekosa you want to seek sympathy,” said Beatrice Otieno, principal Karen C Secondary School.
The parents want the Ministry of Education to intervene and get justice for their daughters.
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