It’s a basic human right for children to feel safe in school and be spared intentional humiliation implied in bullying. This, however, is a new vocabulary in Nairobi School where it has been reported that a Prefect in the school badly molested a form two student in the process leaving him with grave head injuries.
According to a report by Citizen TV, the victim is expected to undergo brain surgery as medical examination revealed that there was some fluid tucked in the brain. The 15-year-old student claimed to have been beaten up repeatedly by prefects to the extent of suffering brain damage.
His condition is said to have deteriorated leading him to being withdrawn from the school.
What started as a WhatsApp conversation on how the student was attacked by school prefects, has left a number of Kenyans recalling nasty moments they encountered from their bullies way back in their secondary school days.
Many on social media have weighed in on the alleged bullying incident claiming that it was part of the system especially for anyone who underwent through boarding schools with some claiming that there was no reason for the alert as long as the act is carried out within ‘acceptable’ limits.
They, however, lamented that school prefects had been given too much power that they sometimes end up enforcing their merciless reign on innocent students. Many however condemned the incident, putting the school management on blast for turning a blind eye on the physical abuse saga.
Here are some of the reactions from Netizens who have spoken up on the torture and bullying they were subjected to by the powerful prefects and are now urging the government and education stakeholders to do something about the situation.
Back in the days, those prefects used a jembe stick to whoop me and it was norrmalized. The incident in Nairobi School is a perfect example the administration knows these shit happens
— Ꝟḯḵṯỏṝ Ragnarsson 🇰🇪 (@Vik_Jakabuoch) July 9, 2019
So my big brother was in Nairobi school many years ago and I decided to ask him if he was bullied when in school and his response was "I was bullied mpaka nikazoea" maaaaahn niliskia nikama naeza enda uko 😭😭
— Miss smiles (@rodah_) July 9, 2019
Kibet Bera a final year student at JKUAT school of engineering was a bright student at Nairobi School. Recently he developed a mental problem witnessed through his attempt to access State House. Who knows he might have undergone a similar torture back then! QR to him
Bure Kabisa pic.twitter.com/SB8nWAm3ye— #K.O.T Lord🇰🇪 (@Bethuruto) July 9, 2019
Hii naunga mkono sana @KenyanHorn. In my days at Musingu High School, prefects were a law unto themselves. There were incidents as bad as the one at Nairobi School. I thought this maneno was done away with. Sad to see it still happens. https://t.co/CKzAFeKe0S
— Edwin Sifuna (@edwinsifuna) July 9, 2019
In a few occasions, the hunter becomes the hunted as students seek revenge from the ruthless prefects. Cases of prefects being beaten or burned to death by other students in reaction to the torture they face have hit media headlines.
This even as parents have been urged to take a closer look at their children and be involved in the activities they undertake. If a child becomes withdrawn all of a sudden and changes behavior in a short span, they could be victims of bullying or could be the bullies themselves.