A Nyamira Court has fined a teacher Ksh300,000 or three years imprisonment after he was found guilty of abuse for canning a student 107 times.
This is after the Court acquitted him of murder charges that were levied against him by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP).
Keroka High Court Magistrate Eunice Nyuthu acquitted the 29-year-old over the murder charges, citing insufficient evidence presented by the prosecution to support the charge.
"I am satisfied that even though the evidence tendered in court cannot sustain the charge of attempted murder, it nevertheless supports the offenses of unlawful winding under the penal cord and cruelty to a child under the Children Act," Magistrate Nyuthu stated.
The teacher, however, did not go free after the court found him guilty of child abuse and jailed him to three years imprisonment.
"I find that the charge of cruelty to a child is more appropriate. The accused person breached this duty by assaulting the complainant and causing him bodily harm. This amounts to a criminal offense for which I find him guilty," the Magistrate ruled.
The Magistrate noted that the accused had gone against the Constitution that prohibited corporal punishment.
"The accused is hereby sentenced to a fine of Ksh300,000, in default, three years imprisonment; the right of appeal is 14 days, the Magistrate further asserted.
Responding to the sentencing, the family of the student who was assaulted expressed dissatisfaction with the decision and stated their intention to appeal.
The incident happened on March 26, 2023, when the accused punished the pupil for allegedly misplacing his school uniform.
The teacher is said to have used a plastic pipe to administer the severe punishment. Officers had recommended that he be charged with assault, but the ODPP preferred that he be charged with murder.
The prosecution argued that the abuse could have led to fatal consequences.
A medical report revealed that the pupil sustained a hematoma, which is a dangerous accumulation of clotted blood within his tissues and could have resulted in death had the child not received prompt medical attention.
