Detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI) have arrested a 17-year-old form three girl at a school in Yatta, Kitui County for suspected infanticide, in a dramatic turn of events.
The school’s principal reported that the student had complained of stomach pains and was rushed to the hospital.
At the health centre, she was examined and said to have conducted an abortion but was treated and later discharged.
The medical report triggered a rigorous search around the school compound, which led to the recovery of a folded blue bed sheet tossed in a pit latrine.
On fishing it out, a male foetus approximated at 8-months old was found wrapped with the sheet, having a piece of a mosquito net tied around its neck.
The suspect was immediately apprehended and the recovered body being taken to a mortuary for autopsy.
This comes despite President Uhuru Kenyatta’s assurances that the government would support expectant school girls.
The head of state issued instructions to the Ministry of Education to devise a mechanism for reintegrating them back into the school system.
Education CS stated that expectant girls would continue going to school until they deliver.
“If you are pregnant and still strong you can come to school, that is the order. If you have just given birth and you require one or two months to stay at home, teachers will monitor and when the time comes, you come back to class.
“There is no shame. Pregnancy is not a disease. We must continue to love our children. If you have found anybody who is blocking a female child from coming back to school because she's pregnant, you can tell us and give us the details so that we can act,” he stated.
