Christopher Khaemba, a former principal of Alliance High School, has spoken about his experiences with student discipline during his 23-year tenure at the institution.
Khaemba stated that he had never witnessed or heard of any instances of bullying during his time as principal, saying, "I was nicknamed Sodium because of my strictness and the discipline I instilled in students. These revelations are unfortunate. My time, however, students’ discipline was not questionable,
"I personally inducted new students by ensuring we had regular meetings to see that they adapted well. Consequently, I involved Form Twos to guide the Form Ones around the institution in a cycle that was a good way to create good relationships and make them responsible," said Khaemba.
Abuse of the Buddy System ¶
A buddy system introduced by Khaemba, intended to help new students adapt, was allegedly abused by older students, leading to violent cases of bullying.
According to the Daily Nation, Khaemba called on teachers to take seriously their role in settling new students and not delegate this responsibility to older students who may abuse the process.
This ‘big brother’ program has reportedly degenerated into a bullying system where older students harass new students, forcing them to do their will or face punishment.
Students reported being mercilessly beaten by prefects, with some claiming that teachers were aware of the situation but did nothing to stop it.
Consequences of Bullying ¶
Recently, prefects at the school were exposed for being violent bullies who beat up juniors, breaking their bones in some cases.
They also allegedly made their juniors lie on the school founders’ graves, which was attributed to cult-like activities.
As a result, the principal at the time, David Kariuki, was forced to resign, 10 prefects were demoted, and 6 senior students were arrested and taken to court.
The students pleaded not guilty to the charges despite several junior students identifying them as the most vicious bullies in the school.
The recovered account cited reporting by Tuko.
