A court in Nyamira County has sentenced Jackson Mobisa Marucha, a teacher from Riang’ombe Primary School, to three years in prison or a fine of Ksh. 300,000.
This follows his conviction for assaulting a Grade Four pupil by caning him 107 times in March 2023.
The incident, which drew national outrage, highlighted concerns about child protection and corporal punishment in Kenyan schools.
The assault occurred after the nine-year-old boy reported that his school uniform had been stolen from a clothesline. Marucha, reportedly furious, inflicted severe injuries on the pupil, leaving a chunk of flesh missing from his buttocks.
The boy was unable to sit and required medical attention at Nyamira County Referral Hospital.
Efforts to hide the incident by confining the boy in a dormitory and denying him medical care were uncovered when classmates informed the boy’s uncle, who had been barred by school authorities from seeing him.
Marucha initially went into hiding but was arrested two months later after public outrage erupted, fueled by calls for justice on social media.
The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions upgraded his charges to attempted murder before the court delivered its ruling.
Discussion about this post