India Requests Kenya to Revoke Diplomatic Immunity for Diplomat’s Son Accused of Rape

India has formally requested Kenya to revoke the diplomatic immunity of a Kenyan diplomat’s son to enable his prosecution for allegedly assaulting a minor at a Delhi school last year.

According to Indian media reports, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has asked the Kenyan government to lift the immunity granted to the individual, who is a close family member of a diplomat.

The alleged incident occurred in August last year, when a five-year-old Class 1 student was reportedly sexually assaulted twice by a 19-year-old Class 12 student on a school bus. A case was registered on September 18 under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act at the Greater Kailash police station in South Delhi.

The girl’s parents have accused the school administration and local police of mishandling the case. “When we first approached the school authorities, they told us the student involved was a 16-year-old Nigerian,” the father told The Times of India (TOI). “Our daughter was called to the school to identify him, but he was absent that day. The teachers claimed he had gone on a field trip. Since we believed he was 16, we thought we could approach his parents and resolve the matter differently, considering he was a minor.”

However, during the police investigation, the Child Welfare Committee determined that the accused was not 16 but 19 years old and a Kenyan national whose mother works at the Kenyan embassy.

The distraught father expressed his anguish, saying, “As a parent, I am deeply saddened. My daughter has not been able to attend school for months now. Every time we approach the police or the school administration, we are told that the boy has diplomatic immunity and that the case requires permission from the Ministry of External Affairs.”

The police filed a First Information Report (FIR) under the POCSO Act on September 18 last year after receiving a complaint from the girl’s parents.

According to the FIR, the girl complained of frequent urination and pain in her private parts for several weeks. The parents alleged that the boy caused injuries to her private parts and that she had seen him twice while traveling on the school bus.

The MEA’s request to Kenya comes nearly five months after the case was filed. At the time, the police had approached the foreign ministry for guidance on further steps.

Earlier this month, it was reported that the minor’s parents staged a protest outside the school over the lack of action. Following the protest, the school suspended the Class 12 student.

Officials stated that the matter of approaching the Kenyan government was under consideration as legal aspects were being examined.

Under Article 37 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, “members of the family of a diplomatic agent forming part of his household shall, if they are not nationals of the receiving State, enjoy the privileges and immunities” granted to diplomats, including immunity from criminal jurisdiction.

As of the time of publication, Kenyan government officials were yet to comment on the matter.