Writer in trouble as mother cowed into disowning story of how son was brutalized by school head

Journalist Evans Kanini's cellphone bungled as move to file civil proceedings crafted against writer for reporting that brutish school principal enjoys protection from Kenyan deputy president

The mother of the school boy beaten unconscious by a brutish Kenyan school principal has been threatened by the school authorities and the police to the point of withdrawing the story he narrated to the reporter Evans Kanini.

The story was published locally and internationally.

As a result, the boys mother, Monica Suge, has disowned the story, leaving the writer in trouble as he has also been threatened with dire consequences for writing the story by a group of Kalenjin tribesmen allied to the school's principal.

The reporter's cellphone has also been bungled for several days now.

The school authorities are insisting that they will file civil proceedings against the writer oblivious to the fact that the reporter has in his possession a picture of the injured student which he was given by the boy's mother.

Suge gave the reporter the picture of her son after he was beaten up with an iron bar by the ruthless school head Shadrack Ngetich- a close protege of Kenya's deputy President William Ruto.

Ngetich also doubles up as a politician and contested for the deputy gubernatorial position in the last general elections after being sponsored by Ruto.

Ngetich is the principal of Leseru Secondary school where the victim is a form-four student.

He is said to have beaten up the student with an iron bar on his head, legs, hands and body on suspicion that he was part of a group of errant school boys allegedly planning to set the institution on fire.

After beating up the student, the principal handed him and one of his colleague to his teachers who inflicted further beating on the duo in the staffroom.

Suge's son was beaten up until he slumped into unconsciousness.

The group which threatened the writer, Evans Kanini, blamed him for reporting that Ngetich was bragging that he could not be arrested for beating up the schoolboy because he was close to the deputy President.

They charged that Ruto had been riled by the "offensive" report.

The group also accused the writer of reporting that the local community around Leseru Secondary school had sought the intervention of President Uhuru Kenyatta for the arrest of Ngetich since he could not be arrested as he was an ally of Ruto.

They said the report had portrayed Ruto in bad light by indicating that Ngetich should not think that being close to Ruto, the deputy President, was a ticket to violating other peoples rights.

This, they claimed, was creating misunderstanding between Ruto and the President.

They also denied that the police had been involved in massive cover-up of the incident by refusing to bring the matter to the attention of the court.

The reporter Evans Kanini had detailed in his story how the police have colluded with the school authorities in covering up the matter and blocking it from arbitration by the judicial system in this East African nation.

The police are very furious over accusations that they have been involved in the subsequent cover-up and sources say they cowed the schoolboys mother into disowning the story and ever talking to the journalist.

The boys mother recently blamed this reporter for "writing lies that the school principal beat up her son and for unfairly dragging the name of the deputy President into the issue".

"Why should you write that Ngetich is enjoying protection from Ruto which serves in implying that Ruto protects criminals? Ruto gave me a bursary once and you should not drag his name into this issue, or even state that the local community have sought the intervention of President Kenyatta since Ruto has failed to act against Ngetich as they are friends! Suge barked to this reporter.

"Ruto is a very sensitive person", she fumed, glaring at this writer who insisted that he stood by his story.