Women senators have called for an urgent multi-agency investigation into reports that dozens of students at a secondary school in Bungoma County are said to have become pregnant, in a case that has reignited concern over the protection of minors in the region’s schools.
The Kenya Women Senators Association, led by Nominated Senator Catherine Muma, said reports reaching lawmakers indicate that as many as 36 students at Bakisa Secondary School in Webuye are affected, with some reportedly having already given birth, others said to be currently expectant, and a number reported to have withdrawn from school altogether. The figures, drawn from reports the senators say they have received, have not been independently verified, and officials have indicated that investigations remain ongoing.
Speaking on behalf of the association, Muma urged the Ministry of Education, the National Police Service and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations to move swiftly to establish what happened and to pursue anyone found responsible. “We would want to see those perpetrators are arrested,” she said, adding that the association would be following up on the matter with relevant authorities.
Local administrators in the area have said some of the cases under review are believed to involve adults rather than fellow students, though authorities have cautioned that the full picture is still being established. The Webuye East Assistant County Commissioner reportedly indicated that a significant share of the pregnancies may involve adult men, a detail that, if confirmed, would raise the prospect of defilement charges under Kenyan law.
School administrators say the situation has disrupted learning and wellbeing for the affected students, many of whom are minors. Child protection advocates in the region have previously flagged Bungoma and neighbouring counties as hotspots for teenage pregnancy linked to poverty, transactional relationships and gaps in guardianship, particularly in rural and border communities.
The senators’ intervention adds political pressure on security and education officials to expedite the inquiry, with calls growing for a comprehensive report on the school’s safeguarding practices and on how the cases went undetected for as long as they reportedly did.