This archive report was first published on 16 September 2021.
On September 16, 2021, a Form One student at St Brigid's Girls High School in Kiminini, Trans Nzoia, was hospitalized for a week due to a brief psychotic episode.
The student, who scored 367 marks in her Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE), had been admitted to the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) in Eldoret.
Upon her return to the school, the management claimed that she had mental health challenges and could not be allowed to rejoin the school, sparking an uproar.
Her fees were paid by a philanthropic organization called Remember the Poor, which had sponsored her through secondary school after she resorted to herding goats due to her parents' inability to raise school fees.
Trans-Nzoia County Commissioner Sam Ojwang described the girl's ejection from school as disturbing, stating, "It is unbelievable that the school threw the girl who travelled a long distance in search of education out. I have ordered further investigations into the matter. The school management will face the law should it be found that they contravened the law,"
According to the report from MTRH, the student was suffering from a 'brief psychotic episode,' which indicated that the girl had 'confusion, hearing strange voices and seeing strange things' when she was admitted to the facility.
The school's principal, Violeta Lokorito, said the decision was made by the school's board of management, whose decision she could not reverse.
However, the student's guardian, Benson Mukhwami, disputed this claim, stating that doctors at the facility had given her a clean bill of health.
Mr. Mukhwami also expressed his disappointment, saying that his money had gone to waste after paying the school fees for the whole year.
