On Sunday, May 25, 2025, 15-year-old Ruby Zawadi Ndavi, a bright Form 2 student at Maryhill Girls High School, lost her life in a tragic and entirely preventable accident. She was crushed beneath the wheels of her own school bus—a bus that was reported, by multiple accounts, to be dangerously unfit for use.
On that fateful day, Ruby and her fellow schoolmates had
traveled to Pioneer School in Maragua to participate in St. John's Ambulance
drills. Ruby was a very active member of the St. John's Ambulance club and had
even traveled abroad to represent her school in international events.
The aging bus they had traveled in is said to have had faulty
brakes, and shortly after the girls alighted, the brakes failed, and it started
rolling down the hilly terrain at the school.
The driver frantically tried to control the bus and avoid
hitting the girls who were walking ahead, but his efforts were in vain.
The bus ran into a group of girls, crushing Ruby under its
wheels and throwing several others into the air. Ruby died instantly, while
three other girls were rushed to the hospital with injuries.
The tragic incident has raised a hue and cry among students
and parents at Maryhill Girls, as well as members of the school's alumni, with
accusations of gross negligence being leveled against the school’s
administration. Sources revealed to us that concerns regarding the safety of
the old school bus had been raised with the school's principal, Grace Wairimu
Macharia, and that even the sub-county director of education was aware of the
situation.
It is further alleged that repairs on the bus were carried
out at the school instead of at a garage by qualified mechanics. The driver,
himself, is reported to have retired last year but was recalled and hired on
contract because he was the only one who could drive the old bus.
In a message from Ruby's grieving family, they say, “The
school administration has since refused to take responsibility, allegedly
calling Ruby's death ‘God's will’. But this was not an act of God. This was
avoidable. This was negligence.” They point to the facts of a retired driver
handling an old bus with known mechanical issues as grounds for charging the
school with negligence.
The school has 3 buses, and it is not clear why the principal
assigned the old bus to transport students all the way to Maragua instead of
using a newer one.
Sources we spoke to claim that the principal has been mismanaging the school and that about 70% of the teaching staff had voted for her removal at the beginning of the year, although no action was taken. They say she boasts of having good connections at the Ministry of Education.
Via Sema Ukweli
Kenya.
0 Comments