Retired headteacher nursing injuries after being beaten up for stabbing 13-year-old boy

A retired headteacher in Irate village of Magarini, Kilifi County is nursing injuries after he was on Thursday beaten up by irate villagers for stabbing a 13-year-old boy.

The teacher identified as Samuel Ngumbao Tsofa is said to have stabbed the minor for allegedly grazing their goats on his farm.

Police  from Gongoni police station said that  the  66 year-old used a panga to cut the neck of the minor as a punishment for grazing on his farm.

The attack comes a week after a parliamentary committee raised concern over the increasing number of underage children hired as herders in parts of Kilifi County.

The National Assembly Departmental Committee on Cohesion and Equal Opportunities said children aged between 12 and 15 are deprived of education after they are hired as herders.

They urged security agencies to take decisive action against those individuals who jeopardize the future of children by employing them for low wages.

Bomani sub location Assistant Chief  Mary Sulubu said that in retaliation to the incident, angry villagers stormed   the teacher's home, stoned him and  set his car on fire.

''We established that he had earlier visited his farm and found young kids grazing goats in it before he confronted them and in the process assaulted one of the kids by inflicting a cut on the neck using a panga,” said Sulubu.

According to her, upon a retaliation battle, the villagers attacked the man at his home after the incident injuring him on the head and both his hands.

''The Kaembeni  Primary retired head  teacher has been stoned by locals and his car set on fire. Some of his valuables were stolen and his parts of his house damaged,” said the Assistant Chief.

She said the suspect’s land cruiser car was also damaged and razed.

The suspect and the minor were taken to Marafa Sub-county Hospital for treatment.

Policed lobbed teargas to disperse the residents who were baying for the blood of the retired teacher.

While maintaining that the security situation currently is still volatile, the chief called on the police to be on alert to prevent any further confrontations.

She said so far, at least four people have been killed in clashes between herders and farmers in Magarini Sub county since January.

The herders and farmers are fighting over land and water which in most cases has fueled bloody confrontation and revenge attacks.

In March a Somali herder was killed in Ganze by locals while grazing camels in a locals' farm.

“It’s a fight for resources. The government needs to make a plan to deal with the resource problem on a long-term basis,” said  Juma Kahindi a local human rights activist

He says the conflict has left  some  families homeless, with the displaced forced to stay with family and friends .