By Edwin Waita
ENDEBESS, Kenya (Reuters) – As he conducts a Kenyan children’s band, Selassioh Muriithi wears a broad dimpled grin – and his Kenyan police uniform.
Muriithi, a 55-year-old senior superintendent, says teaching the children allows him to connect with the community – which sometimes yields tips on crimes. But mostly he does it for the youngsters.
“I am very happy to see I have … given children something else to do,” said Muriithi, who leads the classes at St. Lilian Special School, which focuses on children with disabilities.
Many disabled children are left out of the educational system in Kenya, rights groups say. So for extracurricular subjects like music, opportunities are even more rare.
Headteacher Eliud Kipsang said the pupils are happier and more expressive since Muriithi, who played the saxophone in a police band, started teaching, and his presence has shifted their perceptions of sometimes feared officers.
“Since he came, there’s a lot of friendship, the learners are willing to talk to a policeman,” Kipsang said.
(Reporting by Edwin Waita; Writing by Ayenat Mersie; Editing by Alison Williams)
