Mother Seeks Justice as DNA Links 50-Year-Old Dr Stanko Academy Director Francis Adhiambo Acholla to Pregnancy of 15-Year-Old Pupil

A mother in Dagoretti is crying out for justice after her 12-year-old daughter resurfaced a year after disappearing, this time with a four-month-old baby, and DNA tests reportedly linked the child’s father to a school director.

The girl, Doreen Kwamboka, was a student at Dr Stanko Academy in Kibiria Satellite, Dagoretti, under the directorship of Francis Odhiambo Acholla. 

The saga began in March 2023 when the school took students for prayers at Green Pastures Church.

 According to the family, it was after this church visit that Doreen suddenly vanished.

Alarmed, her mother attempted to report the disappearance to the police. But she claims the school’s administration, led by Director Acholla and headmistress Vivian Ayuga, discouraged her, insisting the girl would return and that there was “no need” to involve authorities. 

With no progress for months, the family was left devastated.

Everything changed nearly a year later when Doreen unexpectedly appeared at her sister’s home. 

She sent her younger sibling to apologize to their mother and deliver a message for Teacher Francis.

“Doreen amenituma nikuambie anisamehe, alafu uende kwa Teacher Francis,” the sister told their mother.

 Pressed further, she revealed the heart-breaking message: “Alisema nimwambie mimba yenye aliambiwa nitoe, sikutoa. Nilizaa, na mtoto ako na miezi nne na wiki moja."

When the family confronted Teacher Francis, he allegedly admitted involvement and promised to “assist,” even suggesting helping Doreen enroll in a short course. 

But suspicion grew when he reportedly offered only an old dormitory mattress to support the young mother and her baby.

The mother took the matter to the area chief, where a meeting was reportedly convened by the school director.

 Her concerns deepened after a meeting at the chief’s office, where the school director allegedly pushed for an informal agreement, later documented in a handwritten letter dated 14th March 2024 and signed by the headteacher Lilian Oyunga and the girl’s mother Ceciliah Hyangarisa.

The letter stated that Dr Stanko Academy would “continue to offer education and support,” including enrolling Doreen in a salon and beauty college for a 6–8 month course, with fees paid directly to the institution.

 It also indicated that the family would receive Ksh 15,000 every month, to be paid on the 5th day of each month. 

However, the mother says she became even more suspicious because the letter was not drafted on official school stationery, lacked an institutional stamp, and appeared to be written hurriedly by hand, raising doubts about its legality and the school’s true intentions.

 She says she is now seeking a lawyer, noting that court hearings at the Kibera Law Courts have repeatedly been postponed under unclear circumstances, making her fear attempts to frustrate or weaken the case.

The matter has since escalated to the High Court, where Director Francis Odhiambo Achola filed Miscellaneous Criminal Application E115 of 2025, seeking to challenge the DNA evidence linking him to the minor.

 In the ruling delivered on 20 June 2025 by Justice Dr Kavedza at the High Court in Kibera, the court noted that Achola is charged with the defilement of a 12-year-old minor under Section 8 of the Sexual Offences Act.

Achola argued that the DNA samples were taken from him without consent and under coercive circumstances, allegedly violating Section 122A of the Penal Code.

 He also claimed that he had not been furnished with the DNA report by the prosecution. However, the court dismissed his application, holding that challenges to DNA evidence must first be addressed before the trial court.

Justice Kavedza ruled that the application was premature, stating that the High Court could not interfere before the lower court had made a determination. 

The ruling—Achola v Republic [2025] KEHC 8823 (KLR)—was anonymised by the judiciary to protect the minor, and the judge directed that evidentiary issues raised by Achola be ventilated during the main trial.