Police in Bungoma County, Kenya have opened an investigation after 36 girls at Bakisa Senior School in Webuye East became pregnant.
Principal Ruth Mulika disclosed the cases. She said 13 of the girls have given birth, 13 are pregnant and 10 left school. The school reported all the cases between January and September 2026.
Webuye East Assistant County Commissioner Emmanuel Kenga said security agencies will investigate the cases and pursue those responsible. He said adults are involved. “These girls did not impregnate themselves,” he said. Investigators will try to establish how the pregnancies happened and whether offences were committed against minors. Police have not announced any arrests or named any suspect.
Only one of the 36 families has reported a case to police. A police gender and child protection officer, whose name was not published, said officers will find out why the other parents did not come forward. She told parents to report the cases without fear of being charged. She said families will receive transport to the hospital and “you will not pay anything at the hospital.”
According to the principal, Bakisa is a day school, so girls travel between home and school every day. She said this exposes them to predators and called the daily journey “a contributing factor to this mess”. She asked leaders and donors to fund a dormitory.
Kenga spoke at the school on Friday. He linked the cases to the circumcision season in parts of western Kenya, which runs until December. He said authorities will act to stop the brewing of traditional liquor in homes during that period. Local activist Sally Wambilianga urged parents not to settle the cases informally and to let the law take its course.
Teenage pregnancy is widespread in Kenya. The 2026 Economic Survey by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics recorded 235,938 adolescents aged 10 to 19 at a first antenatal visit in 2025, down from 241,228 in 2024. Cases among girls aged 10 to 14 rose from 10,126 to 11,605. Bungoma recorded 10,443 cases in 2025, the fourth highest after Nairobi, Kakamega and Narok. The survey said the figures count only girls who attend a first antenatal visit, so they may not cover every pregnancy.
