Businessman impounds school bus, leaves students stranded

Students from Misikhu Friends School pass time at Kisumu Boys compound where they sought refuge overnight on March 14, 2019

Students and teachers from Misikhu Friends Boys High School in Bungoma were stranded in Kisumu for more than 24 hours after a garage owner impounded their bus over an alleged Sh1.6 million debt.

The 58 students and their four teachers were left in shock after the management of Nilam Garage struck while they were on a study tour in Kisumu on Wednesday.

The boys spent the night at a dining hall at Kisumu Boys while their teachers looked for accommodation elsewhere in the town.

The students and their teachers were still stranded in town by 3 pm yesterday as the school made arrangements to ferry them back to school after the garage owner declined to release the bus until he was paid in full.

Kisumu Boys High School Principal, Mr Peter Obwogo said he allowed the students to use the Dining Hall after he was informed of their predicament.

He said they received the students at night and did all they could to offer them makeshift accommodation at the Dining Hall.

Obwogo said they received the students at night and offered them where they could spend the night in the dining hall.

The students drawn from form one to four had their fate of not travelling back sealed after the driver of the school bus left them at The Impala Park at 3 pm to go to their usual garage to repair ‘something’ in the vehicle only for the vehicle to be detained.

 “We waited, but after being informed that the bus was not coming, we were advised to trek to town centre at around 7:30 pm where arrangements were made to have us accommodated.” Said one of the students.

Misikhu Friends School Principal Maurice Otunga accused the Garage owner, Mr  Nilesh Patel of being inhuman.

He said he was still new in the school but explained that the matter could have been resolved without the students being subjected to suffering.

 “We have no documents showing the Board of Management approved the garage to repair that vehicle and I don’t understand why he had to wait for our students to come in the bust to Kisumu and then leave them in the park.” Said Otunga.

Yesterday, when the Standard visited Kisumu Boys High School, the exhausted students were seated under trees without their bags which had remained on the bus.

Mr Patel admitted detaining the vehicle over the debt but said he was not aware the students were stranded.  He told the Standard that he was willing to have the students and their teachers driven back to the school in another vehicle as he detained the bus

 He accused the school of not communicating with him to arrange how the debt will be recovered since the vehicle was repaired in 2017.

 The vehicle was not at his expansive garage in Juakali but was parked at a private compound in Milimani Estate and vowed to release it only when the school administration pays the full amount.