Teacher charged with killing 13-year-old pupil he defiled and her baby
A primary school teacher in Homa Bay County was on Monday charged with the murder of his pupil and her 10-month-old baby.
Mr Eric Otieno Ooko of Gethsemane Academy on Mfangano Island is accused of killing the Class Eight pupil after defiling her last year.
Mr Ooko is also reported to have killed the pupil’s baby, whom he allegedly sired.
It is believed that the accused committed the offence in order to interfere with witnesses in a case he is facing at Mbita law courts for allegedly defiling the pupil.
The suspect appeared before Homa Bay High Court Judge Justice Joseph Karanjah where he was charged with two counts.
In the first count, Mr Ooko is accused of murdering the girl at Seka B village in Mbita Sub-county between October 21 and 26.
In the second count, he is accused of killing the baby on the same date and place.
Mr Ooko is reported to have impregnated the 13-year-old pupil who was being supported by the school.
STRANGLED
According to an affidavit signed by the DCI officer in charge of Mbita Sub-county, Mr Philip Sang, the suspect killed the minor and buried her body in a shallow grave near his home.
He later strangled the baby to death and dumped its body in a bush within the same area.
The two bodies were discovered by residents who were attracted to the site by foul smell.
According to Mr Sang, the accused committed the offence in an attempt to interfere with a defilement case he was facing at Mbita law courts. The pupil was the key witness in the case.
In the affidavit, the investigating officer indicated that the minor left her cousin’s house with her baby to attend a clinic in Sindo Town on January 22 but she failed to return.
Before the defilement case was withdrawn, Mr Ooko was charged with interfering with witnesses.