A Kenyan student is being treated in a hospital in the coastal city of Mombasa after he was flogged for eating five chapatis instead of one allocated by the school.

Teachers have been accused of beating up the boy with a hose-pipe but the school administration has blamed his fellow students.

The 13-year-old boy has black marks on his body, according to local media reports and widely shared videos.

His parents say the school did not inform them about the incident until a week later when the boy became seriously ill.

Doctors at the hospital say the boy has an acute kidney injury and his genitals were also injured.

Local education officials have closed the school after an inspection that followed the incident.

The matter has sparked anger among some Kenyans online:

“Did humanity really depart us? Why would a teacher do this, just because of a chapati? Teaching is not a career, it’s a passion, God given duty. It’s not a torture place for our younger siblings. This broke my heart,” one person tweeted.

Another said: “Teachers should not cane children at any given moment. It’s against the constitution.”

Source: bbc