A court awarded Sh1.25 million Wednesday for each pupil who died following a stampede at Kakamega Primary School on February 3, 2020.
In the ruling, Kakamega Chief Magistrate Linus Kassan said that the school’s board management, the County Director of Education, and the Ministry of Education were 100 percent liable for the death of the pupils.
The court added that the three should pay for the costs and interests in the case at court rates.
On behalf of other parents who lost children in the stampede, Ibrahim Kiverenge Ali, Jerusha Kiverenge, Irene Ambundo, and Joice Mabuko filed the case.
The witnesses accounted that when the learners were descending a narrow and dark stairway of the four-story building at around 4:30 pm when a teacher came out of a classroom and shouted at them.
It is out of fear, according to the witnesses that pupils started running helter-skelter, leading to the deadly stampede as they trampled on each other.
“In my view, the school management who are responsible for the care of the minors bear the greatest responsibility of ensuring that their children are safe and free from harm,” noted the magistrate.
He added: “They ought to have foreseen any danger that might have arisen in case of such an unexpected event being the caretakers of the children during the school-going hours. For the above reasons, I find and uphold that the defendants are jointly liable for the minors’ fatal injuries at 100 percent liability.”
