According to a Teachers Service Commission (TSC) official, the Nyamira North sub-county is a hotspot for sexual molestation of students by tutors.
County Director Wilson Koros lamented that while cases of teachers having sexual relations with their students were on the rise in the area, members of the community were assisting the perpetrators in avoiding punishment by manipulating cases before they were prosecuted.
According to Mr. Koros, after cases are reported, some victims’ parents and family members conspire to end the complaints before they are prosecuted, denying the affected children justice.
“It is tragic that some parents accept bribes for such heinous crimes against children and allow their children to suffer as a result.”koros said
He claimed that the perpetrators evaded justice by coercing victims to retract statements in order to shield themselves.
“This is common, and when a child changes her version of what happened, it becomes difficult to identify the perpetrators,” Koros said. He did, however, warn that TSC has put measures in place to combat such cover-ups.
“From now on, when these cases are reported, we will act as quickly as possible to reduce the possibility of victims being compromised.The first account provided by the victim is trusted, and we will ensure that the girls are separated from abusers and protected in order to avoid interaction,” Koros said.
Although official data on teacher defilement of students has not been released, Koros stated that between two and five cases are reported to his office on a monthly basis. He is concerned that many people will be compromised before TSC is involved.
TSC deregistered 43 teachers in 2021 for having sexual relations with students.
