Police arrest 550 students in sex, alcohol and drugs party in Eldoret - VIDEO

What you need to know:

  • It was an embarrassing scene as the police seized alcohol, marijuana and miraa (khat) from the students. Condoms were strewn all over the underground discotheque.
  • The arrests come two months after 40 other secondary school students were arrested on a bus in Nyeri, using drugs and engaging in sex.
  • Police said among those arrested were university and college students who prey on young girls.

A group of 550 students, most of them minors, have been arrested in a basement disco in Eldoret where they are suspected to have gone on a hedonistic rampage of drugs and possibly sex.

Shocked parents said their children lied that they were going for choir practice, shopping or other innocent errands.

On Monday, their parents trooped to the Eldoret Divisional Police Headquarters to pick up their children, who had been locked up in the cells overnight.

Some of the angry parents were unable to resist the temptation to slap their truant children right away.

Of those arrested, 500 were below the age of 18. The youngest was 12.

Some had travelled from as far away as Kakamega, Kitale and Kapsabet. About 150 of them were girls.

Police said that male university and college students were among those arrested alongside some workers at the club.

Young revellers who patronise the establishment, popularly known as Sam’s Discotheque, are not allowed to take their mobile phones inside and are prohibited from making calls or taking pictures.

Some of the parents who went to pick up their children on Monday accused the police of conniving with the owner of the disco to abet the truancy, arguing that officers were probably aware of what was going on at the establishment, which is directly opposite the police station, barely 50 metres away.
'JAM SESSION'
The discotheque’s management said the students could have gone for a “jam session” that runs from 2pm to 6pm on Sundays, during which time the club only sells soft drinks.

However, police officers who arrested the students said they found alcohol, bhang, miraa and condoms.

The swoop started at about 5.20pm on Sunday and went on until after midnight because the large number of students.

Not all of those who were arrested were taken to the cells as they could not all fit there. Some were taken to the Baharani and Langas police stations.

Authorities said they had ordered the disco to close down but it had been operating.

There was drama for the better part of the morning in Eldoret Town as parents picked up their children from the police station.

One of the parents, Mrs Jane Rotich, said that her underage daughter had told her that she was going for choir practice.

“How could you do this to me?” she asked her daughter, slapping her several times in anger right outside the police station.

Another parent, Mr Henry Sugut, calmly held his chin as he scanned the faces of the arrested youths, trying to identify his son.

“He left home at around 2pm Sunday, after seeking my consent to do some shopping for school. I am very upset. How can I toil, wear one pair of shoes while this fool here spends my money with girls?” He asked.

Mr Boniface Beta, another angry parent, accused the police of shielding the club and abetting children’s moral decadence.

“The owner of the club is untouchable. Let the truth be told. This club is about 30 metres to the main police station. So many children come here, especially when school closes and police have always kept off from acting on calls to regulate this,” he said.

Mrs Pamela Kilimo said parents were pampering their children with money and that was contributing to erosion of morals.

IMMORAL BEHAVIOUR

“It is our making. Parents are now turning these children into adults. Our children have a lot of money nowadays and they can easily fund any form of bad behaviour.”

Eldoret West Deputy OCPD Samson Rukunga said the underage students were kept at the police station overnight for security reasons.

“We got them in a bad state and because they are young, we put them in police cars and kept them under our watch until daybreak,” he said. No charges were preferred against them.

About 50 others, who were 18 years and over, will face charges and are expected to appear in court today.

Mr Rukunga confirmed that condoms, alcohol and bhang were found in the students’ pockets, raising worries about the magnitude of the immoral behaviour.

He said there was evidence the students had been drinking a Ugandan alcoholic brand called Coffee Spirit, which is sold in sachets, and another spirit called Furaha, which is sold in plastic bottles.

The Uasin Gishu County director of the Alcoholic Drinks Control Board, Mr Armstrong Rono, said the discotheque was operating without a licence, which was withdrawn because it did not meet safety regulations. The club was found to be too dark and operated from a soundproof basement.

“It is very important to note that this club is operating illegally. It did not meet the requirements for licensing,” he said on Sunday evening. “It is among basement clubs that are supposed to have been shut, but a case in court stopped us.”