St. Kizito

Last updated
St. Kizito
Information
Established1968
Closed1991
HeadmasterJames Laiboni
Age14to 18
Enrollment577

St. Kizito was a coeducational boarding secondary school [1] in Kenya in Akithii Location, Meru County. It was named for Saint Kizito.

Contents

History

The school was established as an all-boys school in 1968 and began admitting girls in 1975. [2]

By 1991 the school had 577 students between the ages of 14 and 18 – 306 boys and 271 girls. [2] [3]

Mass rapes and murders

Events

On 13 July 1991, 71 girls were raped and 19 killed [1] at St. Kizito school. After supposedly declining to participate in a strike organized by the boys at the school, the girls' dormitory was invaded by male students and the chaos began.

Response

Initial reports included a statement from the deputy principal, Joyce Kithira, who said "The boys never meant any harm against the girls. They just wanted to rape." [2] [4] Kithira was dismissed from her position for her "failure to maintain discipline" at the school but was almost immediately reinstated. [3] School principal James Laiboni commented that rape was a common occurrence at the school. [2] The view was echoed by Francis Machira Apollos, a local probation officer. [2]

The school was closed immediately after the massacre as international outrage erupted on the treatment of women in Kenya and other African nations. [2] 39 boys were arrested in connection with the incident. [2]

See also

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References

Citations

  1. 1 2 Staff (15 July 1991). "Boys at Kenya School Rape Girls, Killing 19" Archived June 17, 2016, at the Wayback Machine . Reuters (via The New York Times ). Retrieved 21 May 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Perlez, Jane (1991-07-29). "Kenyans Do Some Soul-Searching After the Rape of 71 Schoolgirls (Published 1991)". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2021-02-26.
  3. 1 2 Hirsch, Susan F. (1994). "Interpreting Media Representations of a "Night of Madness": Law and Culture in the Construction of Rape Identities". Law & Social Inquiry. 19 (4): 1023–1056. ISSN   0897-6546.
  4. Youé, Chris (1997). "Review of Gender Violence and the Press: The St. Kizito Story". Canadian Journal of African Studies. 31 (3): 584–586. doi:10.2307/486204. ISSN   0008-3968.

Bibliography