Should the death of the 6 students be blamed on recklessness?

While agreeing with social media commentators on the need for students to be in school and not lie to their parents that they are in school only for the parents to be shocked upon receiving heartbreaking news of their children’s’ deaths three hundred kilometers away from college, it is self-defeatist for us to pretend to be better than those poor students who perished in the ghastly road crash. I argue that those students mirror the society they hail from. They are our younger siblings, our little children, and a reflection of our own lives.

According to The Standard reporter Eric Abuga (July 3, 2016), the drivers of the three vehicles involved in the grisly accident were over-speeding; the driver of the sedan refused to give way to the one of the Toyota Noah who was attempting to overtake; and that bottles of beer were scattered at the scene of the accident. Two of the three drivers died on the spot while the third (driver of the canter) sustained serious injuries. This precisely tells us that as a society, we have refused to be our brother’s keeper. Suppose the three drivers were not over-speeding; the sedan driver (Juma) had not refused to let the Noah driver (Nyanaro) overtake and that perhaps Nyanaro was not drunk as alleged, could the result have been the same?

The fact that the three drivers appear to have thrown caution to the winds makes us as Kenyans stand indicted. We cannot pretend that this behavior is foreign amongst the majority of us. Whether we obey laws and nudge our ‘neighbors’ to do the same is the question. Unless everybody plays their part in ensuring the phantom of impunity is slain, such madness on our roads will remain a business as usual occurrence.

While I take cognizance of the likelihood that the youngster who was driving from Kisii to Ogembo could have been drunk, which possibly resulted in his miscalculation, lack of concentration, or even the urge to arrive fastest, I must also hasten to register my observation of what social media reporters had to say about this accident. Most of the comments I have read are absolutely heartless! Posts abound on social media apparently condemning the youngsters’ recklessness, disobedience to their parents and deserved deaths! The implication seems to be that the youngsters had sinned and therefore deserved to perish! These social media soldiers to me have missed the point, in total; they are what is referred to as rebels without a cause! Theirs is just hate waiting to be directed to anybody they so choose from time to time! It is unfortunate that this was the same trend I read when Prime Minister Odinga’s eldest son Fidel died in January last year, when Lucy Kibaki died in April this year and when Jacob Juma was murdered in May this year. I read how these social media soldiers quickly aligned themselves with the two major political groupings in the country before celebrating and/or mourning the aforementioned deaths. Those in CORD mourned Fidel and Juma while those in Jubilee mourned Lucy. On the converse, those in Jubilee celebrated Fidel’s and Juma’s deaths while those in CORD celebrated Lucy’s death! There were a few level-headed commentators though, but their voices were drowned out by those of the marauding hate mongers! Have we become a nation of morons who will not show civility whatsoever in the face of tragedy? Can’t we be human even in the face of death? Why rush to celebrate one’s death? Has sadism completely taken over our hearts?

As much as it is as clear as day is from night that most of the population professes the Christian faith (some reports indicate that about 85% of Kenyans are Christian), it is also clear that the nation has failed to uphold the Christian law. Look, why would men and women of clear conscience rush to social media to condemn the students who perished in that crash and even triumphantly insinuate that the deaths were deserved if this is not tantamount to an attempt to remove the speck from one’s neighbor’s eye while refusing to remove the log from one’s own eye? Is this not the height of hypocrisy? That’s the far we have sunk as a people, only excellent at judging others!

One post however made my hairs stand on end and heightened my melancholy. It was a post on Facebook by a friend called Jarunda Jaluth Mambobiad posted Saturday evening;

“These are sisters. Yes blood sisters!!!! Both died, their mum is a single mother, amengangana sana na kuwalipia fees Kenyatta University. Ameteseka nao sana ????????????????????????

This story has broken my heart. The pain she is going through must be horrible!

I can't imagine the pain and grief the single mother is going through. I am so sorry for her loss. I'm at a loss for words. Let's remember her in prayers”

This broke my heart too! I could not imagine how the parents, the friends, the classmates, and anyone else who saw these pictures felt upon reading that these beautiful ladies had perished at one stroke! I have since learned that their mother is a teacher at Kisii Primary School. My heartfelt condolences to her! Nobody in their proper sense would wish such a thing even to their worst enemy.