The country is still coming to terms with the horrible accident at the Kanginga bridge on the Mwingi-Garissa road on Saturday night that left 10 pupils dead.

The school children from St Gabriel Primary School were traveling from Mombasa after a school trip when their school bus collided head-on with an oncoming truck just two kilometers away from their School. 9 pupils died on the spot while one died while receiving treatment.

According to  Kitui OCPD Muthuri Mwongera, the St Gabriel school bus was hit by the truck causing it to roll several times before plunging into a dry river bed.

NIGHT TRAVEL BAN

Questions have been raised on whether the Mwingi accident that left 10 pupils dead could have been avoided.

Last year Former education CS Fred Matiang’i restricted the operating hours of school buses between 6am and 6pm, in a move aimed at “protecting learners from accidents and immoral acts”. It’s not clear why the school’s administration allowed the journey back home beyond these hours. The accident occurred around 11am, five hours beyond the 6pm

“The influx in accidents on our roads including those vehicles carrying our children can only be tamed if we abide by the rules prescribed,” Dr Matiang’i said while announcing the rule.

Residents around the Mwingi area where the accident occurred have also faulted heaps of soil for road construction that had been dumped on one side of the road that night for contributing to the accident.