A social media user, Diane Atieno, has left many in tears after sharing how her 17-year-old nephew died just hours after being sent home alone by Mwongori High School, in Nyamira county.
“I write this with much pain this morning. As the tears flow, I turn to the only means I know best to handle pain: writing.” ~Diane Atieno
Diane has shared a deeply painful story of her 17-year-old nephew, a Form 3 student at Mwongori High School, who tragically lost his life in a road accident after being suspended from school under troubling circumstances.
According to Diane, the entire class was sent home on 19th for allegedly refusing to reveal who broke a CCTV camera. The boy waited in school hoping his parents had been informed, but they hadn’t.
At 4PM, a teacher gave him Ksh 500 and asked him to leave. He started his long walk to Chepilat hoping to reach his father’s workplace.
With vehicles full, and unable to reach any school official, the family tried in vain to have the school allow him to spend the night. Eventually, the boy got a lift in a parcel canter to Nairobi. He never made it. The canter got into a tragic accident in Narok. He died on the spot.
“My sister had cued the house help to prepare a special meal for him… only to receive the call that changed our lives forever,” Diane writes.
The family is now left with deep pain and serious questions:
Why did the school send him home without informing the parents?
Why were calls to the school ignored?
Why was there no concern for his safety?
Diane ends with a hard but necessary reflection: “Among my pain today is not simply the loss of my nephew, but the loss of care from the systems and schools we entrust with our children
Here is the full story:
I write this with much pain this morning. As the tears flow I turn to the only means I know best to handle pain: that is writing. The young man in this photo is my nephew, a 17 year old form 3 student at Mwongori high school. We grew up with him almost like our little brother. During the day on 19th of this month, the school decided to suspend the entire class. Reason: a CCTV in class was broken and they refused to reveal who broke the CCTV cameras.
My nephew stays in school hoping that his parents had been informed and that they’d send fare before he leaves the school. By 4pm he realizes no fare had been sent and he left the school, having been given 500 shillings from his class teacher to go home since nobody wanted to see them in school. He began walking to transline office in Chepilat where he knew he could find help since his father works there.
On arrival at the office he asked for a phone to call the dad and mum which he did. He told the mum they had been sent home for a suspension for 2 weeks because of breaking a CCTV. He also asked if the mum could send him some money since he had no money and he had spent some of the money on his walk to the stage to eat food. The father tries to get him a vehicle but all vehicles at that time were full. It was around 7pm by then. Meanwhile, my sister, the mother, starts a mission to call the class teacher, the principal, the deputy teacher. None of them picked. Her intention was to beg them to allow the boy to sleep in the school since it was late and the could not get a vehicle. She also intended to ask why they’d release a student without letting the parents know.
They kept calling for over an hour. At this time a neighbor joined, googling numbers of the best way to reach the school. Meanwhile she sends him the last remaining 250shillings she had on mpesa. A classmate then calls her asking whether David, my nephew arrived home. My sister asks the classmate to confirm why they were sent from school and the classmate confirms the story.
After calling and they could not reach anyone at the school, the father decides to request for a lift for the boy from the colleagues. The lift was in a parcel canter. The boy enters the vehicle and falls asleep.
In Nairobi, my sister cues the house help to prepare a special meal for him since he’d be arriving in the morning. In the morning, she receives the call that has changed our lives forever. The canter had gotten an accident.
My sister starts the journey to Narok instead of reporting to work. Along the way the conversations are reflecting on how the boy did not want to go back to the school. Last term the boy was assaulted for no mistake by a teacher known as teacher Rose. He begged not to be taken back to the school. Now I know why. Why would a school release a child without informing the parents? Why would they not even be willing to communicate?
The journey continues to Narok. She meets the wreck of the vehicles involved and nearly collapses. We learn that two people died on the spot. Who are they? We still don’t know.
I call Narok hospital. Thank God for the nursing and doctor teams at Narok hospital. Today we have been handled with utmost professionalism, care and compassion by Narok hospital. We find out my nephew is one of those who died on the spot.
Among my pain today, is not simply the loss of my nephew but the loss of care from the systems and schools we entrust with our children. Should we send children to boarding schools ? Why couldn’t they call the parents? Is sending a child home without care the only way to discipline the child?
Mwongori high school, I have a lot of questions for you.
