Our attention has been drawn to the defilement incident that took place at Moi Girls High School, Nairobi on the June 2. The Center for Rights Education and Awareness (CREAW) condemns in the strongest terms this heinous and barbaric act meted on girls from the school. Acts of defilement and other sexual offences are a violation of human rights and as such must never be accepted in our schools.
The alleged defilement incident adds up to the traumatic fire incident that happened late last year leaving nine students dead and scores injured. No one has since been held liable for the fire and the deaths that followed at the Moi Girls High School. Institutions of learning have a duty of care and protection of learners and must provide a safe space where girls are able to exercise their right to life and quality education without any harm.
The school administration, the Teachers Service Commission, the Ministry of Education as well as the Interior Ministry should take responsibility for the glaring loopholes in the school’s security system. We call on concerned institution to fast-track investigation and ensure that those responsible are brought to book and that justice is done to the survivor and her family.
We take cognisant of the swift action taken by the Minister for Education to shut down the school for a week to pave way for investigation however this is not enough as the defilement case raises more questions than answers. CREAW stands together with the survivors of the alleged defilement and their families and will lend its support to ensure that justice prevails for all the girls who are survivors of this alleged offence.
About CREAW
The Centre for Rights Education and Awareness (CREAW) is a feminist national non-governmental organisation founded in 1999 with a mission to champion, expand and actualise the rights of women and girls. Since its inception, the organisation has worked around interventions aimed at to creating public awareness on the rights of women and provision of free legal aid and psychosocial support to female survivors of sexual and gender based violence.
Wangechi Wachira
Executive Director,CREAW