Teenager strip-searched by Kenyan police in 2015 awarded $40,000 compensation

18-year-old Kenyan high schooler who was stripped naked and filmed while the police searched her for marijuana in 2015 has been awarded Sh4 million (nearly $40,000) as compensation.

A Kenyan high court ruled on Monday that the rights and dignity of the student of Kanyama Secondary School in Karatina were violated during the strip-search which resulted in her semi-nude photos going viral on social media, reports local news portal Standard Media.

The girl had served 18 months in jail for the possession of marijuana after pleading guilty. She later filed a lawsuit, jointly with child rights NGO CRADLE Children’s Foundation, claiming compensation for the “embarrassment”. They demanded Sh7 million (nearly $70,000) in damages.

The student was among 44 others arrested on a school bus heading to Nairobi on vacation. They were stopped on suspicion of smoking marijuana and engaging in indecent acts.

Kenyan police have recently come under scrutiny for manhandling protesters and suspects who have not been proven guilty. The country’s worst cases of police brutality were experienced in the past months during and after the August and October presidential elections.

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