A headteacher charged with beating up a Standard 7 pupil for allegedly absconding classes over Huduma Namba says the pupil and his mother plotted to extort money from him.

He said they used tomato juice to fake injury and claim the boy was bleeding.

Samuel Bala was accused that on May 30 at Saiseva Primary School in Kawangware, Nairobi, he assaulted the minor for allegedly skipping classes.

Yesterday, Bala told the court that just like a routine practice, the minor failed to turn up for classes without permission as required by the school rules.

“I’ve never caused wounds on the body of this minor. They used tomato juice to prove that I caused him wounds on his back,” he said,  a claim the child later dismissed.

He told the court that he loved his pupils. “How can you describe me? A man who loves or hate pupils?” he asked the boy.

Bala spoke during cross-examination after the minor testified. The pupil had told the court that the accused person used a one-metre pipe to inflict serious injuries on him.

He said his mother asked the accused person to give her Sh100,000 so the case is done away with.

“My mother asked him to give us Sh100,000 but he refused and we decided that the case go on in court to a full hearing,” the boy said.

He said that even though he had no visible injury on his back after the teacher beat him up, he was treated by a doctor and given medication so he could get well.

The magistrate directed that the case be heard on November 14.

CLAUSE MASIKA/The Star