Grieving mother blames county after eight-year-old, dies on treacherous walk from school in Bahati
Glen Karanja, the 8-year-old boy who drowned in Milimani on April 30, 2025.
Before his untimely death, eight-year-old Glen Karanja used to walk six kilometres to and from school.
This was not because his parents wanted to give him the freedom to be with his friends while they went to school, but because of it being the available alternative to the people of Bahati.
Just to get a basic education, most residents enrol their children at Lenana Primary School or Workers Primary School - the only government schools - which are located far from the settlements.
Miriam Wairimu during an interview with Mtaa Wangu on May 1, 2025.
"The only other schools we can take our children to are Lenana Primary School or Workers Primary School, which are kilometres away. The children have to brave adverse weather conditions and darkness, risking their lives, as they are supposed to be at school very early," Miriam Wairimu, the aunt to Glen Karanja says.
According to locals, the lack of a government primary school within Kirima in Bahati Constituency has prompted most parents to take their children to schools much further away.
The road is normally passable, but the rains have caused flash floods and high water, making it dangerous, especially for children.
Priscilla Wanjiru during an interview with Mtaa Wangu on May 1, 2025.
"To avoid the road, school children usually walk through Milimani, which is a shorter distance to school. It is so sad that we have lost it, we are just pleading with our Bahati MP Irene Njoki if it is possible to have a primary or secondary school built near us. Our children go through a lot in search of education," Priscilla Wanjiru, the mother of Glen says.
Glen died after being swept away by floods. It was raining heavily at the time.
Francis Gatonga,during an interview with Mtaa Wangu on May 1, 2025.
Francis Gatonga, a cousin of the deceased, says he arrived at the scene to find his cousin still in the ditch.
"Passers-by just watched as it was impossible to reach him, but I could not bear to see my cousin in that hole, so together with some good Samaritans they helped us pull him out of the ditch," he says.
"Karanja, a Grade Two pupil at Lenana Primary School, was walking home from school with his Grade Three cousin and their friends when he slipped and fell. Karanja's body was later recovered more than a kilometre from where he was swept away before police officers arrived and took it to Nakuru City mortuary," she says.