Busia deputy head teacher convicted for indecent sexual acts against pupils

A deputy head teacher in Malaba, Busia County, has been convicted for engaging in indecent sexual acts with pupils.

The primary school teacher was facing 10 counts of committing indecent acts with a child contrary to Section 11(1) of the Sexual Offences Act, and promoting sexual offences with a child contrary to Section 12(b) of the same law.

According to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution (ODPP), the offences included masturbation of minors, exposure of pupils to pornographic material, and sexually suggestive conversations during school hours.

Appearing before the court on Friday, 13 witnesses, mainly boys aged between 14 and 17 years, testified that the teacher repeatedly abused them inside classrooms.

“They told the court how the accused person showed them pornographic material from his phone and proceeded to touch their private parts, an act he did within the school compound. Forensic analysis confirmed pornographic content on the accused’s mobile phone, accessed during the alleged period,” stated ODPP.

The defence sought to challenge the credibility of the witnesses and raised claims of procedural irregularities but the court ruled that the central allegations remained credible and unshaken.

In its ruling, the accused was found guilty on Counts 2, 3, 5 and 6 of committing indecent acts with minors, and Count 4 of promoting sexual offences by exposing a child to pornography.

The court emphasized that minor inconsistencies in dates or absence of physical evidence do not invalidate credible testimony, especially from children.

It also dismissed allegations of witness coaching and institutional bias, stating that judicial findings are independent of administrative processes.