Chemase Secondary School in Tinderet, Nandi county has been closed indefinitely by the school management following the rising tension at the institution after the death of a Form 1 student.
Nandi County Commissioner Herman Shambi has confirmed that the deceased, Kelvin Kiptanui, 16, died while being attended to by doctors at Nandi hills county hospital a day after he was punished by two teachers who are now on the run for allegedly cheating in internal exams.
The incident sparked a night-long protest with the students and villagers accusing the institution authorities of trying to cover up the matter surrounding the student's death.
The school Board of Management (B.O.M) chairman Joel Chemiron chaired a full board meeting that was attended by police and commissioner.
According to the county commissioner, the two teachers who are now on the run are under investigation.
“The beating and related punitive measures are reported to have been as a result of allegedly copying answers from a textbook for a physics examination but then the law does not allow corporal punishment. The investigation has begun to establish the real cause of the student's death,” Shambi said.
The hospital claimed that when the student was taken to the facility they were not informed that he had been 'tortured.'
“We took blood and urine samples for Malaria and other ailments which turned out negative only to learn later that he had been beaten at school," a medical officer told K24 digital.
Commissioner Shambi has promised justice to be served to the family at all costs following the incident.
