Kenya: Pupils panic following 'spirit' attack

  1. Posted on Friday 27 June 2008 - 08:43
    DeeDee
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    Dennis Itumbi, AfricaNews reporter in Nairobi, Kenya, photo: Mamadou Dian Diallo
    Panic gripped students of a Catholic girls' secondary school in Mombasa after a section of them were allegedly attacked by evil spirits.
    Un Lycee de Conakry
    The morning incident caused drama at the Star of The Sea High School, forcing most parents to storm the compound and withdraw their children.

    Students screamed and wailed in loud voices as teachers made efforts to separate the affected ones from the rest.

    Parents and teachers struggled with the students who appeared hysterical.

    A parent, Ms Zaituni Daudi, who could not hold back her tears, said they had been prevented from entering the school compound despite learning activities being disrupted.

    “In one of the classes, the students are all affected, and even some parents who were initially allowed to go in, have also been affected,” she said.

    The parent was at some point fainting after she lost control and was helped back to her feet by relatives who had accompanied her.

    The evil spirits were said to have attacked Form One students since Wednesday, but climaxed yesterday morning, forcing the teachers to send the girls home.

    One of the students said the incident begun with one of her colleagues but later spread to others, terming it as evil spirits who were “thirsty for blood”.

    Journalists were also barred from entering the school as the teachers and Mombasa District Education Officer (DEO), Mr Martin Mwalo, were locked in a meeting.

    At some point, the aggrieved parents started scaling the school walls in protest as students screamed from within and others were being moved from the classes to other unoccupied rooms.

    The principal, Ms Lola Amuka, was at that time attending the Secondary School heads meeting at Wild Waters Complex.

    After being informed of the incident, Amuka called Mwalo for consultation.

    They later agreed that the students be sent home until the situation returned to normal.

    The parents complained that they were not allowed to call their religious leaders to exorcise the evil spirits.

    “It’s only a pastor who has been allowed to remove the evil spirits and it will not work. They should have let us seek intervention from our experts,” said a parent.

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