A Safe Haven for Child Abuse Victims in Kenya

A teacher sentenced to 30 years in prison for sexually abusing a child  

In 2009, Childline Kenya received a case of an alleged defilement of a 13 year old girl by the headmaster in the school where she was attending. The matter was taken to court where it had been since 2009. The accused was charged with defilement. Childline Kenya engaged the services of a private prosecutor in the matter from the International Justice Mission (IJM) and the Teacher’s Service Commission (Kenya’s employer of teacher and partner of Childline Kenya) to investigate.  

Upon receipt, the Teacher’s Service Commission (TSC) lodged an investigation to ascertain the truth. This led to more children coming out to accuse the teacher of sexual abuse.  The investigation report by the TSC was submitted to Childline Kenya and was very helpful in court, proving that the accused person committed the offence he was being charged for. The TSC further dismissed the accused from duty.

This Sexual offences Act in Kenya provides that any person found guilty of having defiled a child aged between 12-15 years should be jailed for a period not less that 20 years. The court found the accused guilty as charged and sentenced him to 30 years imprisonment, with an option of instituting an appeal against this decision within 14 days of passing this judgment.

From Childline Kenya’s end, we have closed the case unless the accused files an appeal. We appreciate the continuous support shown by the Teachers Service Commission in ensuring that their employees do not abuse children or take advantage of their superior position to their subject and violate their rights. This is a major milestone achieved in the fight against child sexual abuse.