We Must Do More to Protect Our Children: Why Kenya Needs a National Safeguarding Framework

August 19, 2025 29

Written by Ezekiel Olande on Tuesday, 19 May 2025.

Like many Kenyans, I was shaken after reading The Teacher and the System, the recent exposé by Africa Uncensored. It was a harrowing account of repeated abuse, institutional silence, and systemic failure at one of Kenya’s most well-known schools.

But that story is not an isolated case. It reflects a larger systemic problem: the lack of a safeguarding culture in our schools.

As a trustee of an international organization that works with children, I’ve seen the difference that well-implemented safeguarding systems can make. Safeguarding isn’t about fear or suspicion. It’s about vigilance, training, trust, and above all, responsibility.

The Laws Are There—But They’re Not Enough

Kenya has a robust legal foundation when it comes to child protection:

Children’s Act (2022): Mandates reporting and strengthens child protection systems.
Sexual Offences Act (2006): Criminalizes abuse and introduces a sex offenders registry.
School Health & Safety Policy (2018): Guides schools in creating safe environments and protocols.
National Plan of Action Against OCSEA (2022–2026): Tackles online child sexual exploitation.
Data Protection Act (2019): Establishes digital privacy rights for children and institutions.

Despite this arsenal of laws and policies, most schools remain unprepared, especially in managing digital risks like online grooming, data privacy, and abuse through tech platforms.

What a National Safeguarding Framework Should Include

We don’t need more laws—we need implementation. A national framework must translate policy into action, and action into protection. Here’s how:

Mandatory Training

All school staff—including boards, teachers, and support staff—must undergo annual safeguarding training, including digital safety.

Curriculum Integration

Learners must be educated on safety, boundaries, and abuse reporting through age-appropriate content in the classroom.

Independent Safeguarding Audits

Schools must undergo regular biannual audits that evaluate their safeguarding systems and publish results for transparency.

Digital Safety Standards

All EdTech platforms and school-related digital tools must meet minimum safety standards: secure access, moderation, age controls, and reporting mechanisms.

Independent Oversight

A national safeguarding oversight body must be established to investigate, monitor, and enforce accountability—completely independent of school leadership.

Let’s Not Wait for Another Exposé

This is not about suspicion or panic. It’s about accountability. It’s about ensuring that every child who walks into a school gate walks into a safe space—physically, emotionally, and digitally.

The laws are already in place. What we need now is urgency and coordinated action.

Let’s move from outrage to oversight. From policy to protection. From silence to structure.

Let this be the moment Kenya made its schools safe again.

Ezekiel Olande is the host of Money Mondays on Icon Radio