Gov’t closes St. Stevens Girls’ School in Machakos after attack on journalists

St. Stevens Girls Secondary School in Machakos was Tuesday morning closed down by the government following an attack on Standard Media Group journalists.

The journalists sustained serious injuries during the Monday attack which saw their vehicle burnt down by the students believed to have been acting on the principal’s orders.

Ms. Alice Gichana , the Assistant Director Quality Assurance and Standards at the Ministry of Education, said the school had been closed down to pave way for investigations into the matter.

The KTN News journalists who were attacked were following up on a story of a girl who mysteriously went missing while in school.

The journalists were in the company of the missing girl’s parents before they were attacked by the students.

The school principal Joseph Musyoki Kyalo, who accused the journalists of tarnishing the school’s reputation, was later arrested and arraigned in a Machakos court and charged with among other counts incitement and arson.

He denied the charges and was released on a bond of Ksh.1 million and surety of the same amount pending the pre-trial mention on June 18, 2019.

Machakos Governor Dr. Alfred Mutua, Bungoma Senator Moses Wetangula among other leaders have since condemned the attack and called on the police to intensify investigations and prosecute perpetrators of the attack.