Maranda High School: Grieving Mum Claims Son Died After School Delayed Taking Him To Hospital

A distraught mother has come forward to describe how her son, a form three student at Maranda High School, died as a result of what she believes was school negligence.

Anita Daniels took to social media to reveal that she buried her son, Christian Kiplagat, three months ago after he became ill at school and died at a hospital in Eldoret where he had been transferred.

Anita accuses the school of negligence after the young boy fell ill. She says the school delayed his transfer to a medical facility in Bondo, and lied to her that he was responding well to treatment when actually he was doing badly. 

Anita was at home with her 6-month-old baby when she received a call from one of the Maranda High School teachers informing her that her son was ill and had been transferred to a facility in Bondo Township where he was receiving treatment.

“His class teacher called me and told me that Christian had been admitted to Haven Hospital in Bondo having been diagnosed with Malaria and Bacterial blood infection and Menengitis. I asked the teacher to give him the phone so that I could talk to him, of which she told me she had left the hospital as she was invigilating exams, that I could talk to him later in the evening,” Anita narrated. 

When she mentioned going to Bondo to check on her son, the teacher said he was fine and she should not bother going all the way there.

Her maternal instincts took over, and she insisted on going to Bondo. With her 6-months old baby, Anita hit the road to Bondo. She got there, and to her shock, her son was in a bad state. 

“I was terrified at the sight of my son, the boy was seriously sick. He was lying in bed head hanging down, and the head was swollen. We asked him how he was feeling and if he knew who I was, he only cried and said, “mum kichwa inaniuma sana na shingo”.

Anita was informed by the clinical officer who was attending to him that her son had Malaria and a blood infection, but that further tests on the kidney were recommended due to the swelling on his face.

Anita requested a transfer to a facility in Eldoret, but the clinical officer and Maranda High School insisted that the boy was doing well and that transferring him was unnecessary.

She insisted, and after two hours of pushing and pulling, they were on their way to Eldoret for Christian’s specialized treatment. However, the young man’s condition deteriorated during this time.

On their way out of the Bondo facility, the guard at the gate told Anita that her son had been brought in on a motorcycle in a bad state. 

She says, apparently, Christian had fallen ill two days early but was given painkillers and kept in the dormitory. This, she says, was negligence by the school. 

The journey to Eldoret was long and worrying. Christian had no much time on him. Upon arrival  he was put on oxygen as his condition had worsened. 

A few moments later, he died while receiving treatment, as his dad and mum helplessly watched. 

“We did an autopsy and the results showed that Christian died of severe bacterial Menengitis which ought to have been treated within the first 14 hours of onset of headaches.”

“My question is, how qualified are the nurses/medics employed in our boarding schools? How safe are our children in boarding school? Because had Christian been attended to early enough, I could not even be writing this.”

Anita says sharing this story has taken her a while and that this is part of her healing process.   BY CITIZEN DIGITAL