Kilifi Food Program Suspended After Pupils Forced to Recite Hindu Prayers
A children’s feeding program in Kilifi County has been suspended after a video went viral showing pupils being forced to recite Hindu prayers before being served food.
The amateur footage, filmed in Ganze and shared on TikTok, showed hundreds of hungry learners from at least 17 schools bowing and chanting before meals. Some clips appeared to show head teachers instructing students to do the routine as part of their daily school schedule.
The images got mixed reactions, with many Kenyans questioning the ethics of linking faith to food aid. Critics called it exploitation of vulnerable children, many of whom rely on school meals as their only source of nutrition.
Kilifi County Commissioner Josephat Kibiwott confirmed the children’s foundation behind the program has been stopped from feeding in local schools.
“We have stopped that children’s foundation from supplying food to our schools because we saw it as not right,” Kibiwott said. “If you want to help people, help in a good way – not by forcing pupils to do what is not right for them, as you have seen in those video clips.”
According to education officials, the foundation had instructed schools to enforce the prayers as a condition for meal distribution, prompting the County Education Team to intervene immediately.
The suspension is to protect the welfare and dignity of learners and ensure future aid programs are free of religious coercion. Discussions are ongoing to find alternative feeding arrangements for affected schools.
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Kilifi Food Program Suspended After Pupils Forced to Recite Hindu Prayers