A Kakamega court has awarded the families of the the victims who died during a stampede in kakamega primary school 1.25m shillings. The incident occurred in February 2020.
Making a ruling in a case in which parents of the fifteen minors who died sued the state for compensation for the death of the pupils, Linus Kasaam the chief magistrate also awarded costs and interest for the suit.
The magistrate said that the victims were children who were under the care of the school management.
Linus said that evidence by the parents that the victims were minors who were under the care of the school was not controverted by the defendants.
In his ruling Kasaam noted that, the school management who are responsible for the welfare of minors bears the greater responsibility to ensure the safety of the learners.
Linus Kasaan said that the school management should have foreseen the danger of being caretakers of the children between school hours. Adding that they should always be keen to evade any eventuality that might occur at the school.
Based on the reason above, the magistrate saw it necessary to uphold that the defendants were jointly responsible for the death of the 15 children.
He said that the fact that accidents occur on their own is not itself proof of liability.
The parents through Ondego Garo Advocates had sued the school’s board chairman, the Kakamega county education officer and the Attorney General as respondents in their suit.
The fifteen victims who died of suffocation are Jane Kiverenge, Bertha Munywele, Salima Olaso, Verm Prince, Samuel Simekha, Fidel Atamba, Catherine Aloo, Joseph Mutsami, Venessa Andeso, Antonatte Khayumbi, Lydia Laventa, Prudence Eliza, Simon Waweru, Nicole Achola and Junne Nakhumicha.
The parents said that their children were healthy and had a promising future of becoming important citizens of society, but their lives were tragically cut short due to negligence by the school.
The parents sought compensation for their children for exposing them to defective, dangerous and low-maintained conditions in the school.
The 15 victims were aged between 9 and 12 years. They were in Standard 4 and 5. 38 others suffered fractures and soft tissue injuries.
Postmortem reports indicate the 15 victims died from asphyxia following the stampede.
Kakamega County Referral Hospital pathologist Dickson Muchana, who conducted the post-mortem, said the deceased had problems with the lungs caused by the pile-up of pupils during the stampede.
