Easy Coach bus driver charged with causing death of Chavakali student
George Onyango Riako, the driver of the Easy Coach Bus that was involved in a road accident at Coptic Roundabout, has been arraigned at Winam Court in Kisumu on 10 counts.
The driver of the Easy Coach bus involved in an accident that killed a Chavakali Boys High School student and injured several others has been arraigned in a Kisumu court on 10 charges.
George Onyango Riako who appeared before Principal Magistrate Duncan Kiptoo Mtai was released on a Sh50,000 cash bail or a bond of Sh200,000 after denying all the charges.
Mr Riako faces one count of causing the death of a student and nine counts of causing injury to nine students and reckless driving.
While asking the courts for bail, Mr Riako's lawyer, Mwangi Kavindu, argued that his client was not a flight risk and would appear in court whenever needed.
"We are requesting for a reasonable cash bail as we await the date of mention of the case to highlight the charges against the accused," Mr Kavindu said.
The case will come up for mention on April 25, 2024.
Mr Riako was arrested on Monday night and detained at Kondele police station. He was later released on a cash bail of Sh50,000.
Joseph Mwadulo, a 17-year-old student of Chavakali High School, died on the spot in the accident that occurred on the night of April 1 near Coptic Roundabout on the Kisumu-Kakamega road.
He was among a group of students who had hired an Easy Coach bus to take them to Nairobi after school closed for the April holidays.
Thirty-two other students were injured in the 9pm accident and were rushed to the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital (JOOTRH) and Avenue Hospital.
The bus was carrying a total of 34 students on their way to Nairobi after the end of the first term holidays. The body of the student was taken to the JOOTRH mortuary.
