St Augustines principal to be charged over pupil death

Five officials from St Augustine Preparatory School in Mombasa, including the principal, are expected to be charged on Wednesday over the death of a six-year-old pupil who was crushed by a school bus on Friday.

This follows an order by a Mombasa High Court that they record statements with the Directorate of Criminal Investigations before they appear in court.

The five failed to appear in court on Monday despite a directive by the Director of Public Prosecutions, Keriako Tobiko that they be arrested and charged with the death of the boy.

The boy was crushed to death by the school bus on Friday July 21 after he fell through a hole on the floor of the bus as the pupils were being ferried to school in the morning.

After the incident St. Augustine’s parents called for investigations and demanded that the school principal to be held accountable for failing to seal the hole on the bus.

“Repairing the hole ought to have been done as soon as the hole began was spotted. We are calling on the Education Ministry to ensure that disciplinary action is taken against the school,” one of the parents told Citizen Digital.

Traffic Amendment Act

In June this year, MPs passed the Traffic (Amendment) Bill 2016 which stipulates that all school buses be painted yellow with the school’s name written in black in a raft of changes proposed to curb road carnage.

President Uhuru Kenyatta assented to the Bill on Friday, July 21, 2017.