In 2020, a devastating stampede occurred at Kakamega Primary School, resulting in the deaths of 14 students. After a lawsuit was filed by the victims’ parents against the school’s board chairman, the Kakamega county education officer, and Attorney General, Chief Magistrate Linus Kassan issued a ruling on Wednesday awarding KES 1.25 million in damages to each of the 14 families.
The parents argued in court papers that the government should compensate their children for being exposed to hazardous, defective, and inadequate conditions at the school. They accused the defendants of negligence and failure to ensure their children’s safety.
The tragic incident took place on February 3, 2020, around 5 p.m. when numerous students were leaving their classrooms to go home. Witnesses reported that some of the students fell from the third floor of a building while trying to hurry down a narrow staircase that eventually collapsed. Close to 40 other students were injured, with some of them being in critical condition, and they were promptly taken to a hospital. The majority of them were later released after receiving medical care.