KENYA RED CROSS SOCIETY BUNGOMA
BRANCH 07.03.2012
Nine
Young Promising Lives Lost in a fatal road accident in Bungoma County
Marakaru village where
the horrible road accident took place is about 16km from Bungoma town is a few kilometers
from Chwele, the 2nd largest open air market in Kenya. Marakaru
village is situated in Bungoma County along the Chwele – Bungoma road.
Most people around this
area are small hold farmers with most of them earning less than a dollar income
per day. Characterized with other factors, the majority struggle to take their
kids to school leave alone getting a meal on the table.
According to a report
from the Institute of Policy Analysis and Research (IPAR), nearly 3,000 people
are killed on Kenyan roads annually. This translates to approx. 68 deaths per
1,000 registered vehicles, which is 30/40 times greater than in highly
motorized countries in the world. Road accidents are the third leading cause of
death after malaria and HIV/AIDS and present a major public health problem in
terms of morbidity, disability and associated health care costs.
Some of the major
courses of accidents in Kenya include; reckless driving, poor roads, un-road
worthy vehicles and laxity in enforcing traffic rules among others.
As is a tradition with
primary schools in this region, during sporting events or interschool
tournaments, the winning teams will walk or drive home singing and dancing in
jubilation after a triumphant performance. On this fateful day pupils from
Mungeti and Marakaru Primary school were singing in recognition of their
performance on their way back home, without the slightest idea of what awaited
them.
At about 5.45pm a
canter vehicle KAW286P rammed into a group of
school pupils who were celebrating along the road on their way to tell a story
of their mighty team’s victory. Six died on the spot, a gory picture…. the road
had suddenly turned into a pool of blood and fresh human meat mixed with
tattered pieces of primary school uniform material and pieces of books. More
than 55 pupils were left injured. Three of these succumbed to their wounds, one
died on arrival at the Elgon View Hospital while being attended to while the
other died on arrival at Elgon View. The third died on the way to the Bungoma
District Hospital where he had been referred for operation to try to save his
life.
Those who were lucky
went home to tell a very sorry story of losing their sisters and brothers. Some
of them who had never witnessed such a scene were traumatized to the extent
that they disappeared from their homes till the following day. They were later
traced either by their families or by the Red Cross Psychosocial team who
helped bring them back to normalcy through counseling.
There were a total of
49 casualties who were admitted to various hospitals with a variety of injuries
including multiple fractures, head injuries, bruises, massive tissue damage and
major shock cases that had temporarily lost their memory to the extent that they
could hardly utter a word. There are those who had to undergo amputations to
save their lives and are still in denial after coming to and finding their
limbs missing.
Life will never be the
same again in this small village; many have been permanently rendered
physically challenged at this young age. Parents, relatives and friends have
lost their hopes in those that they invested in and loved.
This great loss to our
nation was caused by an un-road-worthy canter lorry, a misfortune that could
have been avoided if measures had been in place to curb the use of such
vehicles on our roads.
Those
who perished in fatal accident are listed as follows
Name Sex School
1.
Joel Wanjala Male Marakaru Primary School
2.
Tyson Wanjala Male Mungeti Primary School
3.
Michael Simiyu Male Mungeti Primary School
4.
Sharon Wamalwa Female Mungeti Primary School
5.
Brian Wamalwa Male Mungeti Primary School
6.
Sidy Mukasiali Male Mungeti Primary School
7.
Sharon Female Mungeti Primary School
8.
D.O.A * Male Mungeti Primary School
9.
D.O.A* Male Mungeti Primary School
*Names withheld till fathers are informed
Admitted
in Hospital
Name Sex Hospital Status
1.
Abigael Kisasati Female Lugulu Mission Still hospitalized/Leg fracture
2.
Abiud Wekesa Male Bungoma District
3.
Allan Juma Male Elgon View
4.
Amos Nalianya Male St.Mary’s Mumias
5.
Anne Mutonyi Female Elgon View
6.
Babu Mohamed Male Elgon View
7.
Bencosma Marango Male St. Mary’s Mumias
8.
Christine Kundu Female
Elgon View Hosp.
9.
Dorcas Wanyonyi Nalianya Female Nairobi Hosp.
10.
Elizabeth Kunania Female Nairobi Hosp.
11.
Emmanuel Khisa Male Elgon View
12.
Joseph Nyongesa Male Nairobi Hosp.
13.
Faith Naliaka Female Nairobi Hosp.
14.
Winrose Owino Female Nairobi Hosp.
15.
Maxwell Waswa Male Nairobi Hospital
16.
Elias Nabibia Male St. Damiano Hosp.
17.
Peter Wafula Male Lugulu Mission Hosp. Still hospitalized
18.
Zakaria Wanjala Male Lugulu Mission Hosp. Still hospitalized
19.
Fred Wanyonyi Male Elgon View Discharged
20.
Gilbert Wabwire Male Elgon View Still hospitalized
21.
Kassim Wamalwa Male Bungoma Dist. Hosp.
22.
Lilian Wasike Female St. Mary;s Mumias Still
hospitalized
23.
Keith Wanyonyi Male Elgon View Discharged
24.
Lydia Matanda Female Lugulu Mission Still hospitalized/fractures
25.
Emmanuel Khisa Male St. Mary’s Mumias Discharged
26.
Esther Sikuku Female Elgon View Discharged
27.
Elizabeth Nekesa Female St.
Mary’s Mumias Still hospitalized
28.
Irine Nyongesa Female Elgoon View Still hospitalized
29.
Joy Wanyonyi Female St. Mary’s Mumias Discharged
30.
Maurice Walumbe Male St. Mary’s Mumias Still hospitalized
31.
Metrine Wekesa Female St. Mary’s Mumias Still
hospitalized
32.
Nancy Barasa Female Elgon View Discharged
33.
Purity Makokha Female St. Mary’s Mumias Still hospitalized
34.
Richard Wanyonyi Male Elgon View Discharged
35.
Rodgers Wekesa Male Elgon View Discharged
36.
Sarah Wafula Female St. Mary’s Mumias Still hospitalized
37.
Sarah Wamalwa Female Elgon View Still hospitalized
38.
Teresa Waswa Female Elgon View Discharged
39.
Tiberius Wafula Male Elgon View Discharged
40.
Vivian Wafula Female Elgon View Discharged
41.
Winny Mukai Female Elgon View Discharged
42.
Yvonne Adweya Female Elgon View Discharged/undergoing counseling
43.
Maurine Nekesa Female St.Mary’s Mumias Still hospitalized
GENERAL RESPONSE EFFORTS BY THE COMMUNITY
Kenya Red Cross Society
Bungoma Branch received an alert at 05.45pm that a lorry had run over an
unknown number of pupils celebrating along the Chwele Bungoma route after a
triumphant tournament. Pupils celebrating were from Marakaru, Mungeti, and
Kikwechi Primary Schools coming from Kimikung’i Primary School.
By the time the Kenya
Red Cross team got to the scene, the casualties had already been transported by
ambulances. The Kenya Red Cross Team was divided into two with one going to the
hospital and the other remaining at the scene as they tried to soothe the
families of the bereaved at the scene as they had refused to have any
intervention by the police who had tried to transport the bodies of the six
children.
Volunteers from
Khetia’s groups of supermarkets also played a big role in providing first aid.
The group also provided mattresses for some of the casualties to sleep on the
ground as the hospital was overwhelmed by the numbers.
Efforts by local
opinion leaders like the area Chief and Councilor to convince the people to
have the bodies moved from the scene to the mortuary had failed as relatives of
the deceased blocked the road thus preventing other motorists from passing.
However, at 10.30pm, Mr. Fred Wetang’ula the brother of the MP for Sirisia
managed to convince the people to allow the police to carry out their duty.
The OCPD reported that
the lorry carrying an overload of tomatoes and fruits had plunged into the
children without hooting. The lorry had defective breaks. Witnesses claim that
the driver had the headlights on and seemed to have lost control about 90
metres from the scene of the accident. Due to the fact that the lorry was
coming from behind the jubilant children who were singing and shouting after a
triumphant game at Kimikung’i, the deafening noise prevented them from hearing
the sound of the vehicle that would eventually cause death and untold injury.
Six children including
four boys and two girls perished at the scene.
A total of 55
casualties were transported and immediately admitted to hospitals in Bungoma;
37 at Elgon View Hospital, 3 to Bungoma District Hospital, five to St. Damiano
Hospital, five to Lugulu Mission Hospital and nine at St Mary’s Mumias Mission
Hospital. Four casualties were directly taken to St. Mary’s Mumias Hospital
while nine were referred later on.
The Kenya Red Cross
Society E-Plus team arrived in Bungoma at midnight to help an overwhelmed team
of committed staff who had been joined by a team of nurses from Bungoma
District Hospital in trying to save the children The team helped to isolate the
casualties according to the severity of the wounds.
Arrangements were made
by the E-plus team of the Kenya Red Cross Society to have six critical
casualties flown to Nairobi Hospital for advance d treatment. Among these were
the four who had been taken to St. Mary’s Mumias with spinal injuries while two
other critical cases were identified at Elgon view with cranial injury that
needed immediate attention to save their lives. Three of them were airlifted by
AMREF medical doctors to Nairobi Hospital while three were transported by road
to Nairobi by the E-plus team.
The Bungoma South
District Commissioner has conducted daily District Disaster Response Committee
meetings since 3rd March to help mobilize support for the families.
Members who have participated in this meetings include the District Education
Officer Mr. Japheth Shitubi, Mr. Saul Cheboi the OCPD, Mrs. Mary Magdalene
Wekhanya the Head Mistress of Mungeti Primary School, Mr. Boaz Walela the Head
Master of Marakaru Primary School, confirmed that she had lost eight pupils while
Mr. Walela Boaz the Head Master of Marakaru Primary Schools confirmed that he
lost one boy from his school.
CONTINUED RECOVERY
EFFORTS
The Kenya Red Cross
team has set up camp at both schools since a day after the tragedy to try help
the community to come to terms with their loss. A Psychosocial counseling team
made up of eight members has conducted daily counseling to teachers, pupils and
the members of the bereaved families. The team has carried out individual
counseling sessions to an average of ten cases per day and group counseling to
five classes consisting of about sixty pupils per class in both Mungeti and
Marakaru primary schools. During the sessions, the participants have been
encouraged to open up and share about what they experienced to enable them cope
with the situation. Follow ups are made after the sessions to encourage
healing. It has been challenging to help the families and friends who were
holding hands with those who passed away to come to terms with their loss. An
example is young Fred Wanyonyi who tried to save his friend by trying to pull
his friend from below the lorry but ended up holding his head that was separated
from his torso and Yvonne Adweya who up to now believes that is she had pushed
the canter harder that she did, she could have saved her friends and fellow
school mates but is resigned to blaming herself. The mother who lost two
children is also undergoing intensive counseling especially because she is in
the third trimester of pregnancy.
The First aid team made
of Bungoma Branch volunteers led by the Regional E-plus manager Miss Alice
Njari has been able to provide first aid services to members of the community.
From these sessions, it been discovered that some of those injured did not seek
medical attention for fear of the cost implications. In such cases, some of the
wounds have turned septic and five of these cases have been referred to Elgon
view hospital and one to Lugulu Mission Hospital.
FUNERAL
ARRANGEMENTS
The Provincial administration has met with various stakeholders including
the Kenya Red Cross Society to prepare a grand send off for the departed
children. Various members of the business community have pledged their support
to help meet the cost of the funeral.
Local members of parliament including Hon Moses Wetang’ula the Minister
for Foreign Affairs, Hon Bifwoli Wakoli Assistant Minister in the Ministry of
Lands, Hon Khang’ati Assistant Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister and
Hon Eseli MP for Kimilili constituency visited the scene of the accident on 4th
March this month. Later on, they visited Mungeti Primary School to condole the
community. They helped raise KES 162,000 which was distributed to each of the
families @18,000 while the family which lost two children got double the amount
to help in the funeral preparations. The honorable Minister pledged support
from the government in settling the hospital bills and meeting funeral costs by
giving each family a total of KES 50,000/-.
The Kenya Red Cross Society will have two state of the art, fully
equipped E-plus ambulances from Kisumu and Eldoret to provide first aid. A team
of 100 Red Cross First Aid volunteers will be on standby to provide first aid
to the bereaved families on Friday and Saturday and on other days till the
families have buried the deceased. The organization will other vehicles to
provide transport services.
The Kenya Red Cross Society will provide six tents and 200 chairs and
five mobilets while Kibabii Diploma Teachers Training College will provide 300
chairs.
Volunteers drawn from Bungoma North, Bungoma Central, Bungoma East,
Bungoma West, Bungoma South, Bumula and Mt. Elgon Districts, Kisumu and Busia
Branches will be on standby to provide first aid services. A total of eight
volunteers have been assigned to each family, four to help in transporting
the and four to provide first aid.
Fourteen volunteers will help in controlling the crowd while monitoring the crowd
while ten volunteers will be in the first aid tents to administer first aid.
Twenty first aiders from local first aid school clubs will also help out during
the two consecutive days.
The Provincial administration has provide nine vehicles to each of the
families for transport of the bodies from the mortuary on Friday and for the
Mss service to be held at Mungeti Primary School on Saturday.
The Psychosocial support team will continue providing services to the
bereaved community for another five days or beyond depending on the need.
Bi-weekly follow ups will be made thereafter to ensure the community copes even
after the normal mourning period.
CONLUSION
The tragedy has brought a big blow not only to the immediate family
members but also to teachers, schoolmates, friends and the Bungoma County
Community in general.
As we mourn, we bitterly recall what could have been done to avoid the
tragedy.
From experience in trying to help families recover their loss after
various events, the Kenya Red Cross Society Bungoma Branch has learnt that the
County needs to look at ways to avert similar unfortunate incidents by setting
a Disaster Fund to fund the construction of an ultra modern disaster unit in
the County. For example, the County has had fire outbreaks that have left 56
families homeless in both Myanguli area of East Bukusu and Khayo area in
Bumula. The families have also almost a hundred acres of sugarcane to the fires
The Nzoia Sugar Company has also lost thousands of acres of sugarcane to the
fires. The County relies heavily on Khetia’s Drapers which owns a fully
equipped Fire Brigade and the H.Young Company to put out fires. Such
experiences show that the county needs effective structures to help mitigate,
respind to or cope up with disastrous situations. These can be realized if the
government can put up such systems as a Disaster Unit, more hospitals an
effective fire brigade and trained personnel to man such systems.
During their visit to the area, Hon .Moses Wetangula explained that the
Count needs a referral hospital to cater for the need s of the community. In
addition, Hon. Bifwoli Wakwoli called on
however would become governor to set up an emergency disaster unit in the
county to manage disastrous situations.
However, the time has come to walk the talk by putting into practice what
is required to cater for the 2nd most populous county in the
country.
Report
Compiled by; Valentine Mutaki, Coordinator,
Kenya
Red Cross Society Bungoma Branch.
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