When her son told her that he would work hard and be a police officer when he was grown, she did not know that this would be the last words she would ever hear from him.
Now exactly a week later, (the child died last Friday, August 30) Ann Wawira deeply misses the high-pitched voice of her eight-year-old boy, Patrick Bahati, who died while at a cross country morning run organised by his school, Pebbles Academy, in Thika.
Their last conversation was via a phone call because Ms Wawira had travelled to Eldoret for some business.
This lively conversation occurred between 7am and 7:15am, when the late Patrick told his mother of his future aspirations then added that he did not want to take part in the fitness exercise programme conducted on Fridays.
“Patrick told me he did not want to run at the cross country. So I called his class teacher who did not pick the phone but I later on called the principal and informed her that my son should not be involved in the morning run,” Ms Wawira told Nation.Africa .
However, Patrick somehow found himself in the cross country exercise that usually happens some distance outside the school.
Ann Wawira, her late son, Patrick Bahati (centre) and Bahati's elder brother, Lenny Mureithi.
Photo credit: Pool
A few minutes to 10am, a call was made to the mother by the school’s administration.
That her son, whom she had spoken to a few hours earlier had fainted during the morning run and was yet to wake up despite being given first aid.
The fact that the run usually starts at around 8am and the call was coming almost two hours later signalled to Ms Wawira that things were not right.
She informed the school to rush her son to Avenue Hospital in Thika Town and immediately called her family friend to rush to the hospital and attend to her son before she boarded the next flight back to Nairobi.
“I did not know that I was rushing back to meet my son’s lifeless body. I want the school to tell me exactly how my son died yet he was very healthy in the morning. Why did it take them almost two hours before reaching out to me?” she said.
According to the mother, Patrick was an active and talkative child who easily made friends with his peers both at home and school.
Had he been sick, then she would have known because they talked several times in a day, whether personally or via phone call.
She is particularly irked by the fact that she was clear to the school that her son had expressed his reservation with the cross country but was still forced to join the other pupils in the run.
Much to her shock, the distraught mother said that the school tried to block her from accessing the school and was told to stand outside the gate when she went to get more details regarding her son’s death did not sit well with her.
“I had to force my way into the school to get answers regarding my baby’s sudden death. The school told me that they cannot speak to me and that they have submitted their report to the police,” she said.
When Nation.Africa arrived at Pebbles Academy on Thursday, September 5, some parents had come to pick their children with one who sought anonymity saying the shocking news regarding the death of the child had scared them.
Pebbles Academy has a different version of the day’s tragic events. The school says Patrick was in high spirits and was even showing his teachers how his new smart watch would work and calculate the number of steps he would make during the morning exercise. The activity, the Academy says, began at 8.50am.
The management also said that his mother asked that Patrick be allowed to walk and refuted claims that they were asked not to involve her son in the cross-country.
In their statement to Nation.Africa, school authorities added that there were other pupils who did not run but usually walked the entire four-kilometre track.
“Patrick walked the entire time and was in the company of two teachers and other learners. Upon approaching the school towards the end of the exercise, the child asked to rest and sat down,” the school’s statement read in part.
After a short while, the teachers asked Patrick if he was ready to finish the walk but he shook his head, something that prompted one teacher to rush to school and request for a school van to assist the child get back to the compound.
It was while being driven back to school that the young boy slumped on his seat and lost consciousness, according to the statement. First aid was initiated immediately, the school informed and the head teacher contacted Patrick’s mother to tell them where to take her son for further medication.
The child’s father, a few relatives and friends had already rushed to the hospital and were given the sad news.
“The meeting was very cordial despite the difficult circumstances, and we repeated what we knew to have happened so far. We handed over Patrick’s school bag that contained his books, water bottle and portfolio,” the school said.
Later on, the school reported the matter at the Thika Police Station and have since then “cooperated with all relevant authorities investigating the matter”.
“We look forward to a speedy conclusion in order to settle the minds of all those involved and affected by the unfortunate death of Patrick,” the statement concluded.
Preliminary post-mortem results show that the deceased died as a result of lack of oxygen in his body. It also established that the deceased’s body had no signs of physical strains, nor any signs of strangulation or struggles before his death.
Thika Sub County Criminal Investigations Officer Jacinta Ndavi told Nation Africa that they are aware of the matter and that they received a report at around 2.30am on August 30, 2024 from Ms Wawira.
“We recorded it as a ‘sudden death’ incident and quickly dispatched a team of officers to visit the scene and probe the issue. The investigations are still at a very early stage,” she said.
The post-mortem report, SCCIO Ndavi said, is not conclusive and explained that they took some specimen from the deceased and took it to the government chemist for further toxicology analysis.
“As at now, we are interested in knowing what could have caused the boy to lack oxygen and ultimately lose his life. We cannot cast aspersions on this matter, we will wait for investigations to guide our next steps,” she said.
Patrick’s family is currently at their rural home in Embu making funeral arrangements. All they demand are answers explaining Patrick’s death and after that, justice be served to whoever will be found culpable.
