Shock as students beat up parents at Rachuonyo school
A group of parents had stormed Otok Mixed Secondary School to eject the principal, who was recently posted to the learning institution, when students pelted them with stones in a fracas that left a teacher injured.
Police in Rachuonyo North, Homa Bay County, have detained three people who are accused of being behind an incident where students at a secondary school beat up parents on Thursday. The suspects are aiding police with investigations over the incident that left one teacher injured.
They were arrested after learners at Otok Mixed Secondary School within the sub-county attacked parents who had stormed the institution to eject the principal, who was recently posted to the institution.
Sub-county Police Commander Lydia Parteiyie said the suspects will be charged once investigations are complete.
Among them is the school's Parents Association chairperson Mr Joshua Ochieng.
“They are detained at Kendu Bay Police Station," Ms Parteiyie said.
Learners join fight
The three are accused of organising a protest where a mob raided Otok Mixed Secondary School with the intention of ejecting the principal.
Some parents are accused of assaulting a teacher by hitting him with stones.
Some students are said to have joined the fight when they witnessed their teacher being attacked. They responded by throwing stones at the parents.
The school turned chaotic as students hurled stones at their parents while the parents responded by doing the same. The parents, however, were overpowered and chased away by the students.
According to Principal Jackton Ogaga, the learners returned to the school's premises after dispatching the parents to the village, more than two kilometres away.
But when they returned to school, they found two other parents who had sought refuge in the principal’s office.
According to the principal, his students were angry with the parents because they reckoned they were the ones causing problems at the school.
“Students came out of class when the parents were uttering obscene words which I could not understand,” Mr Ogaga said.
Ms Parteiyie called out the parents, saying it was wrong to breach peace in a learning institution.
“Instead of parents taking the law into their own hands, they should follow the right channels such as petitioning the Ministry of Education to address their grievances,” the police boss said.
