Change the Lives of Child Abuse Victims in Kenya

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

Upon receipt of the complaints against the accused teacher, the Teacher’s Service Commission lodged an investigation to ascertain the truth. This led to more children coming out to accuse the teacher of sexual abuse. The investigative 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 Teachers Service Commission further dismissed the accused from duty.

The 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 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.