How ‘ghost’ in wigs attempted to rape students

The trial of a man suspected to have made several attempts to sexually assault students at Mwaani Girls High School in Makueni County resumed on Thursday.

According to the case files, 29-year- old Jackson Keli Mutuku was arrested and charged at Makueni Law Courts for breaking into and sexually assaulting students at Mwaani Girls High School.

He was also accused of damaging the school’s property.

The court was told how the suspect made his way over the two walls that surround the girls’ dormitory, and then used a ladder to jump over the first iron sheet wall before cutting a hole through a chain-link fence and finally jumping into the girls' dormitory through a window.

"The suspect had used a wooden ladder to jump into the school compound then made a hole through the chain link," testified Robin Katambani, a detective investigating the matter told the court.

Mutuku, according to the charge sheet, committed the offences on October 19, 2020, when the government re-opened schools after reviewing Covid-19 containment measures.

The trial period has seen about nine witnesses who told the court how the man had on many occasions tried to defile students to no avail.

Among the nine are students, the principal and employees of the school with some having testified while others are yet to give their testimonies in court.

Three witnesses, who are all police officers, testified against Mutuku in a case that was heard in closed chambers considering it involves minors.

The girls had for years complained of a ‘ghost’ in the school that wore a wig, dressed in tracksuits for ladies and made several attempts to rape them at night.

The school’s double walls were necessitated by fears the girls had continuously expressed of an unknown man trying to rob them of their innocence.

One witness narrated how onetime at around 2am, she cried in a loud voice that caused commotion in the school compound before the man disappeared into the darkness.

The girl, whom the suspect had targeted, told the court that she slapped the man in attempts to rescue herself from the attacker.

Using CCTV footage that was taken that night, the detectives probing the matter narrowed the case to the 29-year-old.

When he was arraigned, the suspect pleaded not guilty to all counts and was released on a Sh200,000 bond which he was unable to raise and is in custody at Makueni GK Prisons Remand.

The Mwaani High School community which has lived in fear for years is now waiting for the outcome of the case to see if they can solve this unending puzzle where an unknown man had made several attempts of raping girls in the school dormitory after jumping in.

Magistrate George Sagelo adjourned the matter to March 24 when a policeman tasked with analysing CCTV footage is expected to testify before the court.