Kianderi Girls Secondary School in Murang’a is reeling after its veteran driver, Mr Mishek Mwangi, was crushed by the school bus moments before a music-festival trip on Saturday, 22 June 2025.
For three decades Mwangi was the school’s only driver, having joined in the 1990s when Kianderi acquired its first minibus. Although he officially retired early, the administration kept him on a short contract because “the girls felt safest with him behind the wheel,” a teacher said at the scene.
Students were climbing aboard when, according to some reports, one student accidentally nudged the handbrake while the engine idled. The bus rolled backwards down a slight slope. Mwangi, who had stepped out to supervise boarding, sprinted after it despite colleagues shouting for him to stay clear.
He reached the door just as the vehicle tipped, pinning him underneath. Witnesses tried to lift the bus with a passing lorry, then waited nearly two hours for cutting equipment before rescuers freed him, but it was too late.
No student was hurt, yet many watched in horror. Grief counsellors and clergy have been deployed to steady traumatised learners. “He gave his life protecting us,” said one Form Three girl in tears.
A hero’s legacy
Alumni flooded social media with tributes:
“Rest in peace, our driver. He drove us keenly during every trip and music festival. Kianderi has lost a hero.” – Taiwan Macharia
“You gave your life to save the children a true act of bravery, you died a HERO rest in peace baba Kimani,” Melab Wangoe
“So sad and heartbreaking. May his soul rest in eternal peace. He died in the line of duty trying to protect the learners. Very traumatizing.” Ephantus Wahome
Teachers revealed Mwangi had planned to “hang his boots” permanently in December. Instead, the school is preparing a memorial service and a fundraising drive for his family.
County education officials have opened an inquiry into the bus’s mechanical state and the school’s loading procedures.
As exam term looms, Kianderi Girls must now navigate studies amid mourning. For many pupils, the yellow bus outside the staffroom will forever recall a man who put their lives ahead of his own.
