Earlier this afternoon, sad reports came from Kakamega County. Thirteen pupils had succumbed after being trampled upon by their colleagues and a collapsed staircase.
Former Kakamega Senator Dr. Boni Khalwale visiting the hospital afterwards tweeted that that number had risen to 19 pupils.
“Tonight at the Kakamega Hospital. 19 pupils now dead. 2 in ICU. Giving a helping hand..”, he tweeted.
According to Kakamega Central OCPD David Kabena, the pupils most of them in Class Five were leaving their classes heading home when the stampede occurred on a staircase at around 5pm.
It is reported that a teacher at the school was beating some pupils prompting the other learners to run down a staircase and in the process, some fell and were trampled to death.
Education CS Prof. George Magoha expressed his condolences to the affected families, even as he assured that the government would get to the root cause of the tragedy.
“The loss of a child is very painful. My condolences to parents who have lost their want to children. We want to find out why we had a stampede in the school. PS Belio Kipsang will be in the school tomorrow. We will find out what happened and action will be taken,” said Magoha.
