The parents of a four-year-old pupil with autism who drowned in a river on Monday, have accused the school of negligence.
The minor drowned in River Malewa in Naivasha during a school trip.
Paul Macharia, the father of Dalton Gichimu, accused the management of Little Hands Academy of failing to adhere to basic safety for his son.
"As parents, we were not aware that our child had been taken for the picnic until we received a call from the school about the tragedy. The area has a very steep cliff and it’s even unsafe for adults. I wonder why the management of the school settled on the location in the first place,” said an emotional Mr Macharia.
Macharia revealed that his son suffered from autism and needed special care and attention, adding that this was the reason they had settled on the school.
“It took the teachers over an hour to realise that my son was missing and by the time they tracked him, they found his body floating in the river,” he said.
The body of the minor was recovered on Monday evening by police and the public.
According to members of staff at the school, the minors had been taken to a camping site near the river when the minor allegedly slipped from other pupils only for him to fall into the river.
The father of three termed the incident the lowest moment of his life, saying he had so much hope in the boy.
“Despite having autism, Dalton had special talent and was a joy to the family and my prayers is that no other parent will undergo the pain that we are currently undergoing,” he said.
Naivasha OCPD Samuel Waweru said an inquest file had been opened.
“We are investigating the matter to determine if there was negligence on the part of the school and if there is any evidence, the law will take its course,” said Mr Waweru .
In shock
A teacher at the school and who declined to be named, said they were in shock as they had never had such a case in the school’s history.
“We have decided to mourn in silence with the parents and it’s an incident that has left us shaken as none of the teachers realised the minor had slipped from the other students,” said the teacher.
