Police has called upon schools, parents and transport companies to jointly come up with efficient mechanisms to guarantee the safety of students who use school buses.

The warning was issued following an accident on Tuesday morning which involved a school bus carrying pupils of Kigali Parents School (KPS).

The bus that was packed with students when it overturned, but fortunately, the pupils escaped unhurt although one was left traumatized and taken to hospital for medial attention.

At approximately 7:00 a.m., the minibus with registration numbers RAC 845 H driven by a one Leo Fidel Munyangambe overturned as the speeding driver negotiated a sharp corner on a steep slope.

According to Police spokesperson, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Celestin Twahirwa, the accident prompted an investigation into school buses. 

And, later in the day, another school driver was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol. 

He was transporting pupils from Les Hirondelles Primary School in Kicukiro Sector.

Police said that at the time of his arrest, Michel Ntakirutimana the driver, was too drunk that he could barely stand.

"Ntakirutimana was transporting the pupils back home but they noticed that he was drunk, the students screamed until he stopped and they got out. Police arrived, the pupils were stranded on the roadside and the drunk driver was in the bus sleeping,” ACP Twahirwa said. " He took a breathalyser test which gave a 'hot report' implying that the driver was excessively intoxicated.”

"Following these incidents, we identified other issues and talked to parents and schools. Investigations discovered that parents sign contracts with transport companies without the involvement of schools.

"This time, we want schools to be involved and assume the oversight responsibility in the contracts signed between the parties to ensure maximum safety of the students,” he added.

"Some school buses don’t comply with standards set by Rwanda Utility Regulatory Authority (RURA) - the transport regulator," he said.

Out of greed to make undue profits, the bus drivers tend over load the school buses and also over speed to cover many shifts during school runs. 

This, Police said, caused the accident involving the pupils from Kigali Parents. 

"Munyangambe was carrying 29 pupils in a vehicle licensed to take only 18 people, he was speeding in order to beat school reporting time after making many rounds and lost control after he failed to negotiate the corner at high speed.”

Police advised that all school buses should have a guardian on board whenever on duty.

"Parents and schools should ensure there is a guardian on the bus either taking the pupils to school or back home. A guardian can be a parent or a teacher or any other adult person of integrity. This person should have the responsibility of ensuring safety of children on the bus. Parents and schools should not leave children in the custody of a driver alone,” the police spokesperson said.

He went on to remind transporters to abide by all standards set by RURA.

"Police and RURA will ensure regular road safety checks to ensure all buses comply with set laws and standards,” Twahirwa said.

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