PTA denies assault claim by girl, blame her
By Wainaina Ndung’u
Published: Jul 4th 2018 at 20:15, Updated: July 4th 2018 at 20:15
PTA Chairman Kirigara Girls High School Daniel Mwenda address the media on the rape allegation. They maintained the girl had sinister motives. [Peter Muthomi, Standard]
Kiringara Girls School parents’ representatives have denied claims that a student was sexually assaulted at the institution.
Speaking at the school in Central Imenti, the Parent Teachers Association (PTA) members led by Chairman Daniel Kinoti blamed the student and her mother for instigating a claim against to tarnish the school.
The girl has claimed in a report to the police that over three hooded attackers drugged and sexually assaulted her on last week’s Thursday night after drugging her after she woke to answer a call of nature then abandoned her naked in another dormitory in the school.
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“We had a whole day meeting at the school and find no merit in the claim by the student,” said Kinoti. “We also find that all this was all instigated so that the student can be allowed to transfer from the school.”
The eight members of the 16 member board also laid several accusations against the student and her parent.
They claimed her version to the police and the media differed sharply with the information she had given to the school principal and medics at the Meru Level 5 hospital.
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“The student had confessed earlier to her classmates that she has been having a recurrent infection in her private parts and she inserted a piece of toilet paper to mop up the discharge,” said board member Gideon kithinji.
The PTA members also claimed that the parent of the girl had confessed that the infection had recurred after an initial treatment in the first term and blamed her for taking time to arrive at the school after being summoned by the school management to accompany the daughter to hospital.
James Barongo another PTA member said they had full confidence in the school management and had found all students were calm and contented when they arrived for the meeting.
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“We have done our own investigations including talking to the children and found no truth in the allegation by the alleged victim,” said Mary Karaine. “As a matter of fact, the other students disowned their counterpart as having concocted a story for her selfish interests.
Yet another board member claimed that the student had wanted to get an excuse to leave school and attend the graduation party of her cousin.
Githinji said the PTA would investigate whether there was a link between the incident and a scheme by the community surrounding the school and some members of staff to fight the headteacher who was transferred to the school from another in Kajiado County last February in the delocalization drive launched by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC).
But the PTA members confessed they had not talked to the complaining student or her parent but denied going by only the version of the school management.
“Our only interest is to protect our children and we have absolutely no interest in protecting anyone,” said the PTA chairman. “It is only that we find no truth in the claim by the student.”
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But they referred mainly to a Post rape incident form which the student claimed were written from the school’s version of the incident as given to doctors at the Meru Level 5 Hospital.
Other PTA members in the meeting were Henry Mawira, Francis Chorogeli, Lucy Mwongera and Ellen Mwirigi.