- Deputy Speaker of the Senate Kathuri Murungi has urged schools to prioritise learner safety during educational and recreational trips.
- His appeal follows the fatal Hebesha Academy bus crash in Meru County that claimed the lives of two pupils.
- Murungi called on school administrators to use only roadworthy buses and avoid unsafe vehicles during the school holiday period.
Deputy Speaker of the Senate and Meru Senator Kathuri Murungi has urged education stakeholders across the country to prioritise road safety when transporting learners during the school holidays to prevent avoidable road accidents.
He challenged school managements to ensure learners are transported in roadworthy vehicles during the numerous educational and recreational trips organised during the school break.
Murungi’s remarks come a day after the fatal Hebesha Academy bus crash that claimed the lives of two pupils and left several others injured in Tigania East Constituency, Meru County.
“School administrators should give priority to learners’ safety by ensuring they travel in roadworthy school buses. I urge school heads and principals to avoid using unsafe vehicles to transport learners during the holiday period since many schools organise educational and recreational trips.
“We are aware that many schools organise trips after closing for the holidays. I appeal to school administrators to ensure learners are not transported in accident-prone vehicles,” said Murungi.
Hire roadworthy buses, schools told
The Meru Senator advised schools that do not own buses to hire roadworthy vehicles from neighbouring learning institutions instead of relying on unsafe private means of transport.
“If your school does not have a bus, hire one from a neighbouring school. We want all our learners to spend this holiday safely because some are preparing to sit their national examinations,” Murungi said.
His remarks follow an accident at Ngumba along the Mikinduri–Kunati–Gatithine Road in Thangatha Ward, Tigania East Constituency, where two Hebesha Academy pupils died and several others sustained serious injuries.
Mikinduri Police confirmed the two deaths and said the injured learners were rushed to various hospitals for treatment as investigations into the cause of the accident continue.
The bus involved in the accident is reported to belong to politician Mugambi Imanyara. However, authorities have not linked the ownership of the vehicle to the cause of the crash.
Governor mourns victims
Meru Governor Isaac Mutuma M’Ethingia described the incident as a devastating tragedy, conveying his condolences to the bereaved families and the entire Hebesha Academy community.
“No words can truly ease the pain of losing such young and promising lives. These children were a priceless gift from God, full of dreams, hope and unlimited potential,” the governor said in a condolence message.
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He also prayed for the speedy recovery of the injured learners and assured the affected families of the county government’s support.
By John Majau
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