'Rape raid' at Kenyan school

Police in central Kenya are investigating an attempted mass rape by schoolboys on female students at a neighbouring school.

They say some 300 boys from Nyahururu Boys' School attacked the girls' dormitory at Ndururumo High School while under the influence of drugs and alcohol.

The girls' screams alerted male students at the school, who took up weapons.

Police say many students were injured, including five girls who had tried to fight off the attackers.

Those hurt were taken to a local hospital for treatment before returning to school.

More than 100 students from the boys' school were questioned by police.

Escorted to school

Police say several suspected ringleaders remain in detention, and will be escorted to school daily by police to write their exams until they are charged in court or released.

According to a police officer, some of the boys said they had conducted the raid after hearing a rumour that exam papers had been leaked to the neighbouring school.

They did not explain, however, why the search for exam papers led them to the female dormitory.

The attack has prompted memories of an attack in Eastern Province nine years ago, when schoolboys at a mixed school attacked female pupils in their dormitory, leaving at least one dead and many injured.