A journalist from the Star newspaper and two others were assaulted and arrested by police officers while attempting to cover the arrival of a new secondary school Principal in Kitui County.
The incident took place on Thursday at Mutonguni Boys High School, where a Principal, whom a section of the parents is said to have disapproved of over poor performance, was reporting for induction.
The Star journalist Musembi Nzengu said when they got to the school, he found the School Management was already in and the gate had been closed.
"As we were coming back, we were confronted by a police officer who told us to leave the area and they wanted no one in the vicinity," Nzengu said.
"The officer moved to confront another journalist who was expectant from Mumo TV. I took my camera to take a photo, he left my colleague and came to me questioning why I was taking pictures."
Nzengu said the officer beat him and threw him to the ground, hurting his hand and leaving him bleeding.
He said the officers then put them in a Land Cruiser and took them to the station.
"They took us to Ndolo's Police station. They booked me there. They wanted to charge me with creating a disturbance... a Mbaitu FM lady was with me," he said.
Nzengu said another scribe had to call the County Commander to intervene.
He said they had earlier gone to the school because they had received reports that the newly posted Principal of the institution was arriving despite the disapproval of the parents who even held protests on
"Mutonguni boys’ parents had said if the new Principal takes over the school, they will demonstrate. We arrived and found the teacher had already been sneaked in and the gate had been closed," Nzengu said.
"It was like the high security was to ensure peace in case of unrest as the Principal arrived to take over the management of the school."
The new Principal is from Kivuthini Secondary School.
The Kenya Certificate of Secondary Analysis showed that Kivuthini Secondary School posted a mean grade of 3.7 in 2023.
Three students had a mean grade of B, four had B-, six had C+, 11 had C-, 24 had D+, 38 had D, 34 had D-, and eight had E.
In 2023, 13 had direct university entry as opposed to 7 in 2022.
In 2021, Mutonguni boys’ had a mean grade of 4.86 as opposed to 5.50 in 2022.
In 2023, the school had a mean grade of 4.791.
On January 22, 2024, the parents of Kivuthini Secondary School wrote a petition to the Teachers Service Commission seeking the removal of their Principal who has now been deployed to Mutonguni boys.
"We demand as parents in compliance with the constitution of Kenya 2010 and Public Procurement and Disposal Act 2015, Public Officer Finances Management Act 2012 EACC Act 2012 to recognize our demand and further arrest of the principal for contravention of constitution and law. The EACC act was made to address this corruption but a law is only as strong as its implementation," the petition read in part after listing accusations against the Principal.