A grade 7 leaner at Rwanyange Primary School in North Imenti Constituency, Meru County died after drowning in a school tank while fetching water.
The 15-year-old boy had gone to fetch water for other students in the tank which had a faulty and non-functioning tap when he accidentally slipped and fell from a radar he was using to access the water.
Speaking to the media, the deceased uncle Gregory Murithi said after his nephew slipped into the tank, other learners raised the alarm to alert the teachers over the unfortunate incident.
He regretted that the teachers failed to respond immediately to the distress call and only acted after an hour by calling a rescue team to retrieve the body.
“When my brother’s first born son Evans went in to fetch water, fellow learners who were there say he slipped and fell inside the tank. They immediately screamed and called the teachers. The school didn’t help my brother’s son and he drowned to his painful death.
They only called a fire and rescue team an hour later to retrieve the body. Repairing the outlet pipe, that could have cost so little, became more expensive than the soul of this innocent boy,” said a distraught Murithi.
He said after the two million litres tank outlet got spoilt, the school management decided to be sending learners to the tank to fetch water instead of repairing it.
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Murithi said one student would take off his cloths and be left with sports short before proceeding to fetch water from the tank without the slightest knowledge of the danger it poses.
“Apparently, the two million litre water tank the outlet got spoilt. Instead of repairing water fetching outlet the school decided to be sending pupils inside the tank to fetch water manually. One student would take off clothes and be left with sports short, then get inside the completely sealed tank via the small opening that has a radar.
He would fetch and give other learners outside the tank. The water was only used for cleaning classes so, it’s only pupils on cleaning duty who depended on the tank,” said Murithi.
He says his brother had a bad premonition immediately he arrived at the school compound and found his son’s clothes and spectacles lying near the water tank.
The family is now calling for justice for their son especially after the school deliberately failed to act after the boy slipped and students raised an alarm.
The boy will be laid to rest tomorrow.
The citizen reporter who was informed to go and cover the incident was shocked to discover that the deceased was his nephew.
Gregory Mureithi in a lengthy Facebook post eulogized his niece who was born in 2009.
According to the reporter, Tiffany was abandoned at an early age. His father disappeared without a trace then his mother followed later when he was three years.
The reporter’s mother took the responsibility of taking care late Tiffany and her sister. In 2017, when the reporter’s mother was in church the mother to the children surfaced and stole her children.
This led to reporter’s mother developing ulcers which grew into cancer and she later passed in August 2017.
The boy returned last year to Rwanyage last year from Igembe because he wanted a better place to learn and help his family.
The boy stayed with reporter’s father. Tiffany was tasked to attend meetings at school while the reporter catered for the school fees and any other related expenses.
By John Majau
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