The recent Moi Girls rape scandal has engulfed the school in yet another storm barely a year after the fire that claimed the lives of many girls in that school.

While everyone has cause to be alarmed, this new incident while terrible pales in comparison to what happened at St. Kizito Secondary School in Tigania, Meru.

The date 13th July 1991 will forever live in infamy for many who witnessed the cold-heartedness and sheer disregard for human morals and decency.

On that day over 70 girls were raped and 19 killed.

Let that sink in.

What happened exactly? It was a normal day at the mixed school. In the evening, students quietly sat in the classroom for preps.

At 8.30 pm, a power outage blanketed the school in darkness. The girls were first to go to their sleeping quarters, as was the tradition whenever power supply was interrupted.

Unknown to them, the boys had short-circuited the electricity supply in a ploy to have them leave the classrooms early.

At around 10 pm, heavy stones started raining on the girls’ dormitories. Terrified, they ran to hide in their largest dormitory, Mbatian, as previously instructed by the head girl.

It was thought to be the safest as it had strong doors and steel grills. 270 girls were now crammed in a dorm that usually housed 70 girls. The enterprising girls closed the doors and windows hoping against hope for respite.

It came but for a while because a teacher had been able to convince the boys to go back to their dorms. Satisfied, the teacher proceeded to his own home.

At 1.00 am. the girls calm was again shattered when  heavy stones rained again. The boys had returned and they broke down the doors as the girls cowered and pleaded. Inside the dorm, the girls squeezed themselves in the corner of the room, crying their lungs out.

One survivor recalled:

“It was like hell had broken loose in the stuffy, dark room."

They had powerful torches that helped them identify their victims, who they suspected of having relationships with some school officials. They mercilessly attacked the girls raping them over and over again. Others were seriously injured as beds fell on them.

In the ensuing melee, others were trampled to death. The boys then fled. The aftermath was chilling. A total of 19 girls lay dead, and 71 were injured. Many were raped. Four of the girls suffocated to death.

In the morning the dormitory was in a shambles: overturned furniture, broken beds, torn clothes. The massacre had an even more profound effect on the survivors.

Left to nurse the effects of trauma, they had difficulty living a normal life again. The nation was also shocked by this incident with soul-searching the phrase of the day.

The police were also not absolved of the blame as to why they were not available to stop the horror show. They defended themselves by saying that their vehicles lacked fuel!

Three watchmen were charged in court for failing to stop the boys and were later released for lack of evidence.

Investigations revealed that the boys were angry with the girls for refusing to join them in a strike against the headmaster, James Laiboni.

Some students had previously been thrown out of a sports meet for not paying activity fees. Most of the more than ten boys later charged in court escaped with light sentences as rape and murder could not be proved.

Tragic.