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Court orders KWS to pay Sh1.9m to family of seven-year-old killed by agency car

Residents can now participate in court cases online, an option which eliminates transport costs that the poor cannot afford. (Photo: EV)

By Joseph Ndunda | Tuesday, June 4, 2024

The High Court in Malindi has ordered the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) to pay Sh1.9 million to the family of a seven-year-old girl fatally injured by the agency's driver along Malindi – Baolala Road in 2022.

Justice Mugure Thande set aside the Sh2.9 million earlier awarded in compensation by a magistrates' court after the KWS appealed.

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The judge ordered that the KWS shall pay the family Sh200,000 for pain and suffering and Sh150,000 for loss of life following the demise of the minor.

The family will be given Sh1.5 million for loss of dependency, Sh100,000 in compensation for burial expenses and Sh1,550 as special damages all totalling Sh1,951,550.

The magistrate had ordered the KWS to pay Sh2,936,550 to the family of AJC who was knocked down by a KWS driver while walking as a pedestrian on May 1, 2022.

The driver of the vehicle KBB 397S belonging to KWS lost control of the motor vehicle, veered off the road and knocked the minor.

The magistrate court had ordered KWS to pay the family Sh200,000 for pain and suffering and Sh150,000 for loss of expectation of life following the demise of the minor.

The family had been awarded Sh2.3 million for loss of dependency, Sh250,000 for burial expenses and Sh36,550 for special damages.

But the KWS was aggrieved by the quantum of damages which it termed excessively and inordinately high, and unsupported by evidence.

The agency filed an appeal on grounds that the trial Magistrate erred in fact and in law in awarding the family Sh2,300,000 as damages under the Fatal Accidents Act.

KWS argued that an award of Sh286,550 for burial expenses and special damages was issued without sufficient proof supporting the same.

It also cited awarding inordinately high and manifestly excessive awards on pain and suffering, loss of expectation of life and loss of dependency.

The agency disagreed with the magistrate arguing that there was no justification for the award of Sh2.3 million for loss of dependency given that the deceased was a seven-year-old girl.

KWS argued that Sh600,000 compensation to the family of AJC was sufficient. The agency had also proposed Sh30,000 as compensation for the pain and suffering that the deceased underwent.

"The upshot is that the appeal partially succeeds. The learned Magistrate's award on loss of dependency, burial expenses and special damages are hereby set aside," ruled Thande.

The deceased was a pre-primary (PP2) pupil at Pishimwenga Primary School.

The judge noted that the family of AJC submitted a letter from the school indicating that she had a bright future ahead of her which was doomed by the KWS' negligence.

She also said the suffering associated with the injury inflicted by a big vehicle, a Toyota Landcruiser, cannot be compensated by Sh30,000 as proposed.

"It is not in dispute that the deceased died the day after the accident. She must have therefore endured great pain and suffering from the time of the accident to the time she succumbed to the injuries sustained. As such I find that the award of Sh200,000 in 2024 is reasonable," the judge said.

The judge faulted the magistrate for awarding Sh250,000 for burial expenses which was not supported by any evidence.