Seven teachers who allegedly forced four Itumbe DOK Primary School pupils to perform mock sex will spend two more days in police custody as they wait to be charged on Monday.
The teachers were reportedly caught on a viral video forcing minors to perform mock sex.
On Friday, Senior Principal Magistrate Paul Bewott ordered that the suspects be detained at Nyangusu Police Station.
Evelyne Moraa Orina (47), Catherine Mokera Mokaya (38), William Isuka (46), Druscilla Moraa Nyairo (48), Angelica Joseph (33), Gladys Kenyanya (50) and Obadiah Nyaribo Mokaya(33) were arrested on Wednesday.
While making a ruling of an application to detain the teachers for 14 days, the Senior Principal Magistrate Paul Bewott said the two days he had given will enable the prosecution to draft charges for the accused persons.
Record witness statements
The investigating officer will also record witness statements within two days to enable the prosecution to get the charges.
"This period, the prosecution will have the charges to prosecute the suspects in court," said Mr Bewott.
Meanwhile, an official of Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) Gucha branch has defended the accused teachers.
In a dramatic turn of events, the Knut official claimed that contrary to majority opinion on the reasons behind the outrageous video recording of the grade two learners performing mock sex, the teachers were allegedly on a fact-finding mission to collect evidence of the children’s alleged indulgence in indecent behaviour during break time.
The branch Executive Secretary Lucy Machuka told Nation.Africa that the teachers did not compel the children to perform the indecent act for fun.
Mrs Machuka said a pupil had reported to the teachers that some of his colleagues had sneaked into a nearby forested field within the school compound where they started playing mock sex.
The Knut official claimed that one of the pupils had allegedly been forced to perform the indecent act by the other pupils. The teachers then summoned the pupils and ordered them to demonstrate what they had been doing in the forest.
According to the union official, the video was recorded by a subordinate staff member who intended to show the boys' parents how their children were getting spoiled.
“During the first break, some pupils went to play in a small forest within the school compound where they did what you saw in the clip…” said Mrs Machuka.
Mrs Machuka alleged, “during the second break, they repeated what they had done during the first break.”
The Knut official alleged, “One of the boys informed the teachers that some pupils were doing bad things before the teachers summoned them and ordered them to demonstrate what they had been doing.”
Mrs Machuka said the teachers did not intend to subject the learners to humiliation by recording them as they engaged in the mock sex.
The trade unionist defended the teachers saying that they were people with impeccable moral values who would not engage in activities that might compromise the dignity of the minors.
The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) interdicted six of the seven accused teachers on Thursday. TSC directed that the teachers stand interdicted and required them to show cause why they should not be deregistered.
The TSC letters stated that on February 1, 2023, the teachers instructed and coerced grade 2 learners of Itumbe DOK Primary School to engage in indecent and inappropriate acts depicting homosexuality within the school compound.
The letter noted, “You actively participated, aided the recording of a video footage of the minors who pursuant to your coercion were engaged in acts depicting homosexuality and circulated the same on social media hence causing trauma, psychological, mental torture and embarrassment to the minors.”
Education Cabinet Secretary Mr Ezekiel Machogu had earlier warned that teachers would face disciplinary action, including dismissal.
