Concern in Kakamega as children drop out of school, resort to escorting bodies from morgues

By , K24 Digital
On Sat, 14 Aug, 2021 21:27 | 2 mins read
Bodaboda operators escorting a body from a morgue in Kakamega. PHOTO/COURTESY

A section of students in Kakamega county have abandoned school and are now engaging in bodaboda business which they say is an easy and fast way of making in money..

According to the Kenya Tobacco Control Alliance (KETCA) chairman Joel Gitali many youths in the county seem to have joined the booming bodaboda business and enjoy the bit of escorting bodies from the morgue to their ancestral homes for burial earning a paltry 500 per escort…

"Hundreds of school boys dropped out of school especially during the Covid-19 pandemic period and started escorting the bodies in a msafara where they are paid 500 per trip which prompted a bigger number to join the business, most of them use alcohol, bhang among other evil things ,"KETCA national chairman Joel Gitali told K24 digital.

Kakamega county bodaboda chairman Robert Amachonye blamed parents for not advising their male children to take education seriously.

" Parents are the ones to be blamed and some of the financial institutions that credit motorcycles to under age people to engage in the business, urging the relevant authorities to intervene or else we shall end up having a big number of school children not attending school,"Amachonye said .

He added that the business of escorting bodies from mortuary is done especially on Thursdays and Fridays where they are paid good monies and are engaged in several trips on a song day…

Kakamega county Director of Education Stephen Barongo revealed that a number of students have dropped out of school joining the bodaboda sector urging local leaders, church leaders and community to identify the so called school dropout to go back to school to achieve the one hundred percent transition.

Western regional traffic commander Joseph Matiku said there is increase in motorcycle accidents mostly involving the age of 15 to 25 years warning riders against contravening the road safety rules with some driving without licenses..

Matiku said culprits will be charged in a court of law for flouting traffic rules