By Steven Ngaujah in Kono
It has just emerged that 15 children – 12 boys and 3 girls – have been involved in a gruesome road accident in Sierra Leone’s eastern Kono District while travelling to a neighbouring community to write this year’s National Primary School Examination (NPSE).
The incident, which happened on Friday, led to the amputation of the leg of a teacher who was accompanying the pupils. Several of the pupils sustained injuries.
Some of the children are admitted at the Koidu Government Hospital, while others who sustained minor injuries were taken to the Kainkordu Community Health Centre.
Fallah Abdulai, a class six teacher of the Roman Catholic Kungumadu Primary School, had his leg cut off on impact. Part of the severed leg has still not been located by Saturday morning, when Politico visited the Koidu Government Hospital.
According to sources, the children were travelling onboard a truck from Kungumadu Village in Mafindor Chiefdom to Kainkordu Town in the nearby Soa Chiefdom.
Kainkordu, which is the headquarters town of Soa, is home to the only examination centre that serves the two neighbouring chiefdoms which are situated in the east of the district.
Soa is a largely agrarian community. The road where the accident occurred is amongst the worst in the district.
Eye witnesses told Politico that the accident was caused by brake failure.
Yaryah Kemoh Mansaray, Councillor of Ward 85 in Constituency 25 in Mafindor, said the children were forced to board the timber truck as a result of a sudden doubling in transport fares by commercial motorbike riders from Le20, 000 to Le 40,000 leones per head. The truck driver agreed to carry them for Le 25, 000.
The truck driver is presently with the Police in Koidu helping them in their investigation
© 2019 Politico Online
