Police arrest teacher at centre of pupil’s controversial death

What you need to know:

  • Laikipia Central Police boss Ben Changulo said the teacher will be arraigned in court on Wednesday as police conduct investigations.
  • According to her classmates, Mr Maina had beaten her outside their class before dragging her into the classroom and later directed her desk mates to beat her again if she could not read.

Police in Laikipia have arrested a primary school teacher suspected to have beaten a Standard Three pupil leading to her death.

The 49-year-old Venezio Njuguna Maina, TSC number 373650, was arrested at a hideout near his home in Chaka.

Laikipia Central Police boss Ben Changulo said the teacher will be arraigned in court on Wednesday as police conduct investigations.

“We will request for more days to complete investigations which include carrying out post-mortem with all parties present,” he said.

Earlier, Laikipia County Commissioner Onesmus Kyatha had confirmed the case had been taken up by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) who will oversee the post-mortem to determine the cause of the girl’s death.

The girl, Joy Waguthi, according to her classmates, was beaten by the teacher after she failed to read in class.

The Nation.co.ke has also learnt that she was among pupils who were interviewed by the education ministry during a survey to establish the state of education in the country.

The deceased, was also among those who were not able to read and write properly, the same reason she was beaten by her teacher.

“My granddaughter could not read and even, her teachers knew that,” said a teary Esther Wangui, the girl’s guardian.

According to her classmates, Mr Maina had beaten her outside their class before dragging her into the classroom and later directed her desk mates to beat her again if she could not read.

The boys, the pupils said, heeded the order with one hitting her on the back while the other punched her multiple times in her lower abdomen.

The girl was rushed to a Naromoru Hospital on Friday where she was given pain killers and instructed to get an X-ray scan on Monday.

But on Sunday, her condition worsened as she started to vomit blood and nose bleeding before being rushed to Mary Immaculate Hospital in Mweiga.

“Her abdomen was also swollen,” said her grandmother.

She died while undergoing treatment the same day.