Kilifi suspends charity’s school feeding programme after pupils made to recite Hindu prayers

The Kilifi County government has indefinitely suspended relief food donations from a Hindu charitable organisation after a video surfaced showing pupils being forced to recite a Hindu prayer before receiving meals.

The Krishna Children Foundation faced public backlash after footage from Ganze Sub-County showed schoolchildren being directed by head teachers to perform prayers before eating.

Kilifi County Commissioner Josephat Biwott said the foundation had been supporting 17 schools in the remote Sokoke Ward since 2019.

“They have been doing so well since 2019 until this August holiday when school heads from 16 primary schools and one secondary school were called in Mombasa for a meeting and they changed the system on how they have been providing food, and the programme started in this third term,” he said.

Hunger caused by drought

Biwott noted that Ganze has long struggled with hunger caused by drought, crop destruction by elephants from Tsavo National Park, and water shortages. He emphasised that the programme was halted because children were being compelled to take part in religious rituals.

“We have stopped the Krishna Children Foundation from donating food to our schools until further notice because we saw it is not a good initiative. If they want to support, let them do it in the best way, but not to compel children to do bad things like what we have seen in the videos going viral,” he said.

The county commissioner added that teachers involved would face disciplinary action.

“As the County Education Board, we have instructed the Teacher Service Commission to deal with these teachers professionally because they are aware that anybody who wishes to give relief food must be cleared by the board and the Education Permanent Secretary,” he said.

He further explained that teachers must account for why they attended the Mombasa meeting without approval from the Ganze Sub-County Director of Education. The County Security Committee will also conduct wider investigations.

“We want to know what is happening in our schools. Kilifi has had many challenges, especially on radicalisation, from Shakahola to Kwa Binzaro, and now we are getting something which is also very complicated and could have brought us many challenges,” he said.

Steady supply assured

Biwott assured parents that learning would continue and that the government would step in to ensure a steady supply of relief food.

“They were used to the lunch since 2019, but we are discussing and we because we always received relief food, we want to see how we can come in as government,” he said.

He clarified that not all schools in Kilifi benefit from the feeding programme, pointing out that Ganze is classified as a hardship area and receives larger relief allocations.

Other Topics To Read

• Coast
• Kilifi County
• Krishna Children Foundation
• Kilifi relief food donations
• Ganze Sub-County
• Kilifi County Commissioner Josephat Biwott
• Kilifi suspends charity’s school feeding programme after pupils made to recite Hindu prayers
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“Even now it is raining heavily in Kilifi, but there is no rain in Ganze,” he said.

Kilifi Woman Representative Gertrude Mbeyu condemned the incident, saying: “We cannot exploit our children because of hunger; we are ready as leaders to deliver relief food in schools.”

Roads Board Chairperson Aisha Jumwa also criticised the practice.

“As leaders, we must stand firm and stop these issues where children are asked to recite a prayer before being given food,” she said.

Deputy Governor Flora Chibule pledged a multisectoral approach to address the matter.

On September 18, 2025, Ganze Sub-County Director of Education Mariam Ngome wrote to the organisation ordering an immediate halt to all donations and school activities.

“Please be informed that all your donations and engagements with schools and learners within Ganze Sub-County must stop immediately,” she said.

Headteachers were instructed to coordinate with the donor to collect relief food by Monday, September 22.

Authorities have also confiscated Hindu materials from the affected schools as investigations continue.

Biwott reaffirmed that the government would intervene to ensure vulnerable pupils are not left without meals.