St. Kizito massacre

St. Kizito massacre
St. Kizito massacre
Location
Coordinates	0°21′36″N 37°34′48″E / 0.3599°N 37.5800°E
Information
Established	1968
Closed	1991
Headmaster	James Laiboni
Age	14 to 18
Enrollment	577

St. Kizito was a coeducational boarding secondary school in Meru County, Kenya, named after Saint Kizito. It closed down in 1991, following a high-profile rape and massacre of girls at the school.^[1]

Background

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 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.^[1]

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]

References

Citations

^ ^a ^b 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.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g 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.
^ ^a ^b 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. doi:10.1111/j.1747-4469.1994.tb00947.x. ISSN 0897-6546. JSTOR 828890.
^ 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. JSTOR 486204.

Bibliography

Kariuki, Wanjiru (2004). "Masculinity and Adolescent Male Violence: A Case of Three Secondary Schools in Kenya". Retrieved 14 November 2023. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
Ngesa, Mildred (13 July 2005). "Kenya: 14 Years Later, Boys At the Heart of the St Kizito Tragedy Speak Out". Daily Nation. Retrieved 14 November 2023.

[Reuters-1] 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.

[:0-2] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g 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.

[:1-3] 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. doi:10.1111/j.1747-4469.1994.tb00947.x. ISSN 0897-6546. JSTOR 828890.

[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. JSTOR 486204.

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