Nine pupils killed as lorry rams into crowd

Nine primary school pupils on their way home from a sports day died in a tragic road accident in Bungoma County on Friday evening.

More than 40 others were admitted to various hospitals with one already having had his leg amputated while several others were taken to the intensive care unit.

At least three were flown to Nairobi for specialised treatment.

The pupils, from Mungeti and Marakaru primary schools in Bungoma, were returning from a sports day at Sikusi Primary School when they were run over by a lorry.

The accident occurred at around 6 pm at Kimukungi, a few kilometres from Bungoma town, on Friday evening.

Rescue operations were complicated by the nurses’ strike which forced most of the injured to be rushed to private hospitals, according to a Red Cross official.

The pupils were initially taken to Bungoma District Hospital but were later transferred to Lugulu Mission, St Dominiano, St Mary’s Mumias and Elgon View private hospitals.

A witness, Mr Erick Wafula, said the children were singing and celebrating after emerging victorious in a football competition held at Sikusi before they were hit by the lorry.

The lorry hit children on one side of the road before swerving and hitting children on the other side.

Bungoma OCPD Amos Cheboi said the lorry driver sped off after the accident but was later pursued by traffic police and arrested.

He said the driver was at Bungoma police station and will be charged in court on Monday for causing the deaths of the school children.

“He is still in shock and has not provided any information so far,” said Mr Cheboi.

Mr Cheboi said the accident could have been avoided if the driver had been careful.

“The children were many. They could be seen from far because they were shouting and singing,” he said.

At the Bungoma District Hospital mortuary, grief-stricken David Wamalwa told the Sunday Nation he lost two children in the accident. He initially saw the lifeless body of his son, Brian, a Standard Six pupil at Mungeti primary, on the road.

He fainted minutes later when he was informed that his daughter, Sharon, had also died. “I feel so sad. The children were my life and hope. Now I have lost them in just minutes,” he said amidst sobs.

Another parent, Mrs Lydia Wekesa, said a boda boda operator informed her of the accident. She rushed to the scene but could not find her daughter.

“There was blood all over. Many bodies were lying on the ground and people were wailing,” she said.

Mrs Wekesa rushed to various hospitals but did not locate her daughter. “The children were too many. It was after several others were transferred to other hospitals that I identified her lying unconscious on the floor in one of the makeshift wards,” she said cuddling her child.

A Standard Eight pupil, Keith Wanyonyi, said he remembers singing with his friends when a powerful force hit him.

Keith, a pupil at Mungeti, says he only recalls seeing blood all over and four of his friends lying lifeless.

“I could not move my body. The pain was too much. I was lying in a pool of blood,” he said.

Mary Wabwile, also a pupil at Mungeti, said she woke up to find herself in hospital.

Several leaders led by President Kibaki sent messages of condolence to the families, relatives and friends of the victims.

Prime Minister Raila Odinga called for stern action against errant drivers. “Something grim and grave, something absolutely unacceptable happened to these children and some decisive action must be taken.”

And, in Kirinyaga, five members of the same family died in an accident on Friday evening. Forty others were seriously injured. The accident occurred when a Meru-bound bus collided head-on with a saloon car along the Makutano-Embu road. The impact caused the bus to roll several times.

The five who died were in the saloon car.