For Mary* (not her real name), Tuesday September 16 will forever be etched in her memory.

That morning seemed ordinary enough for the 11-year-old girl, grade 4 pupil at Kenana Primary School in Njoro. To shield herself from the cold, she wore trousers under her school dress.
However, what seemed like an innocent decision soon turned into a nightmare that has kept her out of class ever since.

"As I sat in class, a female teacher noticed I was wearing trousers and asked me to take them off," Mary recalls. "I obeyed and put them in my bag. But moments later, I was called to the staff room and humiliated in front of other teachers.”

What followed scarred her deeply. She says the teacher proceeded to question her about her undergarments and even searched her.

“She kept asking me, ‘Kwenu mumenunuliwa panti? Mama yako huvaa panti?’” Mary's eyes welled up as she recalled the teachers laughing. "I broke down in tears. I felt mocked, ashamed and powerless.”

Overwhelmed, Mary fled to the back of the classroom, where she cried alone until her elder sister, Ann*, came to comfort her.

Ann, a 16-year-old Year grade nine student at the same school, had been in the staff room earlier that day. She had gone to explain why her mother could not accompany her to school and pay her outstanding fees.

Sixteen-year-old grade nine pupil Ann at her home in Njoro on September 22,2025. She has missed school since last week after being humiliated at school over claims that she was not wearing undergarments.

Photo credit: Purity Kinuthia/Mtaa Wangu

Instead of showing understanding, Ann says the teachers turned the conversation onto her, asking her whether she wore underwear. “They even suggested checking. I broke down and ran out immediately,” she recounts.

"How can we go back after that? All I can hear is their laughter,” says Ann. Despite her final exams being only weeks away, she is unable to attend class due to the trauma.

The consequences weigh heavier for Ann. She fears that the disruption could prevent her from attending Njoro Girls High School and eventually becoming a pilot. “I still want to chase my dream,” she says, “but not at that school. The shame is too much.”

Their mother, visibly shaken, says the ordeal has left her daughters emotionally shattered. “She is a woman like me. Why didn’t she just call me to discuss the matter? Instead, she embarrassed the children. I have begged them to go back to school, but they refuse. All they feel now is fear and embarrassment.”

Deborah Chepkemoi, a concerned resident of Njoro, called upon the Ministry of Education to investigate the matter and hold the teachers accountable for their actions.

Photo credit: Purity Kinuthia/Mtaa Wangu

The family’s ordeal has struck a nerve in Njoro. Residents like Deborah Chepkemoi are demanding accountability. “A teacher is supposed to be a second parent. Seeing them humiliate children in this way is disturbing. When we raised the matter with the headteacher, we were dismissed. The headteacher is protecting the teachers who caused so much distress,” says Chepkemoi.

Kenana Primary School, Njoro.

Photo credit: Purity Kinuthia/Mtaa Wangu

Attempts by Mtaa Wangu to get clarification from the school were unsuccessful. Reporters were turned away at the gate and had to communicate with the school through a guard.

“The teachers are not comfortable talking to the media,” the guard said.

The Njoro Sub-County Director of Education, Karango George, admitted that he was unaware of the case. “It is very unfortunate if these children experienced this. I urge the parents to report it to our office so we can offer guidance," he said in a phone interview.

However, for Mary and Ann, the damage has already been done. The shame of public ridicule has silenced their laughter, cut short their education, and left them hiding at home when they should be at school.

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Purity Kinuthia