On Wednesday morning, Baptista Mukere was at work in Mukurweini, Nyeri County, when he received a phone call that would change his family's life forever.
About 80 kilometres away in Naromoru, his two-year-and-nine-month-old son, Carlos Brown Mukere, had just arrived at school when he was allegedly knocked down by the institution's school bus and died in the parking lot.
The call did not come from the school's administration but from one of Carlos's teachers at Shalom Schools.
“I was told my son had an emergency and that I should rush to Naromoru Level Four Hospital. Since I was far away, I asked my wife to go there,” Mr Mukere recalled.
He would later learn that the little boy, who had left home barely an hour earlier, was dead amid conflicting accounts from the school and police over how the tragedy unfolded.
When his wife Caroline Wambui arrived at the hospital, she found the school bus parked outside together with a school employee.
“It was only after repeated requests that some nurses and the school director's wife ushered me into the casualty department and explained what had happened. I felt the world collapse on me,” she recalled.
According to Ms Wambui, the school representative told her that Carlos had safely alighted from the school bus before walking behind it. As the driver reversed, he allegedly failed to notice the toddler and knocked him down.
Baby Carlos Brown Mukere died after being knocked down by a school bus driver in the Shalom Schools car park in Nyeri County on July 8, 2026.
Photo credit: Pool
She was told the child was rushed to hospital while still alive but later succumbed to his injuries.
However, when she later reported the matter at Naromoru Police Station, officers gave a different account of the incident.
According to preliminary police investigations, Carlos walked in front of the bus after alighting and was hit by its front wheel.
“Immediately after the impact, the children aboard the bus began screaming, but the driver ignored them and continued driving before parking the vehicle inside the school compound,” Ms Wambui said, citing what police told the family.
When she returned to the school parking lot, she found her son's school bag lying open, with the snacks she had packed for him still inside.
The family also learnt at the police station that the bus driver had already been released on cash bail.
Kieni East Sub-County Police Commander David Kabuthia confirmed that the driver was released on Wednesday morning after posting a cash bail of Sh50,000.
He said detectives were recording statements from the school administration, staff and other witnesses to establish exactly what transpired.
“Today (Thursday), we have started collecting statements from key witnesses to establish exactly what happened. We are also working on conducting the minor's post-mortem examination so that we can have a comprehensive report,” Mr Kabuthia said.
The police commander said the driver is expected to be arraigned on July 11, 2026, to face a charge of causing death by careless driving.
