On June 3, 2020, 13-year-old Tamalaki Joseph encountered a freak accident which left one of his legs shattered.
He was a Standard Eight pupil and he spent months at the Nairobi Women’s Hospital getting treatment.
The recovery process has been a daunting one but this bright boy stunned many when he scored 391 marks in his KCPE. He never set foot in class due to his injured leg. He wrote his exam papers in a hospital ward.
All through, he was pessimistic that he would not make it to sit for his KCPE.
“There was a time I was thinking I would not sit the exams, but it has all turned out well” he said according to Nation.
His father Joel Otieno said that he is proud of what his son has achieved but is still shaken by what happened.
In June last year, a bubbly Tamalaki went to Imara Daima to play basketball in the company of his sister Ahadi Otieno.
At 6:30 pm as they returned home, Tamalaki was hit by a vehicle as he left International Christian Centre (ICC) in Imara Daima.
At 7 pm, his elder sister Natasha called his father and asked him to rush to the scene and he just thought it was a minor injury. But his shock was getting to the scene and found his son’s sandals lying on the ground.
He was wheeled to Mater Hospital for treatment. He was in critical condition.
The young boy who schooled at Kitengela International School has had a lot of surgeries since then but thanks God that he still has his leg intact.
His father has spent Ksh3.5 million on the injured leg but young Tamalaki cannot walk and it is dressed after every two days.
“He is still a very long way from walking and attending school.
“I will request the school that accepts him to give him a one-year sabbatical to help him heal physically, mentally and psychologically,” his father pleaded.
