Deputy President William Ruto has said that the government will compensate bereaved families of the Kakamega Primary School stampede which left 14 pupils dead.
Speaking at the school on Tuesday, Ruto said the government will work with the county to ensure survivors of the stampede get counselling.
“Our condolences to the bereaved families; we share your grief with deep sympathy. Affected learners, parents and their families will be counselled,” he said.
Ruto said investigations were being conducted to establish the cause of the accident.
“We are giving our security team ample time to find out the cause of the stampede. This would help us come up with measures that would prevent a recurrence of such a deadly event,” he said.
It was reported pupils were running from a teacher who had ordered them to leave class quickly and they started running down the stairs.
The pupils in front stumbled and fell and those behind also tripped.
The staircase is quite narrow.
A total of 13 of the deceased were confirmed dead on arrival at the Kakamega County Referral Hospital, while another succumbed to injuries at Nala Nursing Home, where he was admitted.
Two of the critically injured pupils are in the ICU at the referral hospital, while two others are in general wards. A total of 37 pupils were treated and discharged.
The deceased are five girls and nine boys.
The school has a population of 3, 128 pupils.
The learners affected were in classes Four and Five, which were accommodated on the first and second floors.
In order to allow for a full investigation into the incident, Ruto announced that the school would remain closed until Friday this week.
Only September last year, eight children died at Precious Talent Academy in Nairobi after the one-storey building housing their classrooms collapsed on them.
Owner of the school Moses Ndirangu pleaded not guilty to eight counts of manslaughter.
