NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / New Zealand

Kenyan bus crash: 'A very heavy burden'

Matthew Theunissen
By Matthew Theunissen, Bay of Plenty Times staff
Other·
29 Jan, 2013 11:55 PM5 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

All the students and teachers from Bethlehem College who went to Kenya. Photo / Facebook

All the students and teachers from Bethlehem College who went to Kenya. Photo / Facebook

Bethlehem College principal Eoin Crosbie said the teen who had been driving the bus that crashed in Kenya had "carried a very heavy burden'' and was relieved to be able to tell the truth about the crash.

The bereaved families had reacted very graciously to the news about who was driving that crashed two weeks ago, killing four people, Mr Crosbie said.

"I think that the families that we visited yesterday and that David visited last night expressed grace towards David. They are not hostile towards him. I guess that they can put their own children in the same position and have great empathy for him and his family, so he's not received a hostile, judgmental response from those families, but rather a genuine concern about his welfare and how he was managing.''

Mr Fellows' father, Tim Fellows, declined to comment when the Bay of Plenty Times visited the family home yesterday.

Paul Mabey QC, said he was helping advise the Fellows family but declined to comment further.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

A confusing picture about who remembered what about the crash was painted at the press conference at Bethlehem College yesterday.

Mr Crosbie said a small number of people had witnessed the change in driver.

"Because everybody was involved in this accident to a greater or lesser degree, it's taken time to put together the pieces so that we can in fact rely on the information that we are getting.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

A Facebook post by Kerri Tilby Price, a teacher on the trip who was travelling in the car ahead of the minibus, confirmed there were confusing reports as to what happened because of some students having no memory of the accident at all, and some remembering only parts.

Meanwhile, the man who allegedly told Mr Fellows to keep quiet about being the driver denies he was involved in a cover-up.

Mr Crosbie said the school's Kenyan liaison representative, Calvine Ominde, told former student David Fellows to keep quiet about the driver swap until after the teen had returned to New Zealand.

However, Mr Ominde has denied being involved in a cover-up.

Discover more

New Zealand

Bus crash victims to be farewelled

18 Jan 08:35 PM
New Zealand

Kenya crash victims on way home

20 Jan 04:30 PM
New Zealand

Kenyan bus crash survivors return home

21 Jan 11:20 PM
New Zealand

A song for 'wonderful' Caitlin

22 Jan 11:00 PM

Mr Ominde told TV3's Firstline this morning that when he arrived at the crash scene Mr Fellows approached him and said, "It's my fault".

"I didn't know what he meant because I knew [Kenyan driver] Chris [Mmata] was driving," Mr Ominde said.

He said Mr Mmata's body was lying near the driver's side of the minivan and he had no knowledge of a driver swap before the crash.

Mr Mmata and New Zealanders Brian and Grace Johnston and Caitlin Dickson, 19, were killed when the van rolled into a ditch on the Nairobi-Murang'a highway nearly two weeks ago.

Mr Ominde said he did not know there had been a driver swap and he did not understand "why I'm being blamed" for a cover-up.

"I hear there's a lot of news saying that I covered up for this. Why should I cover up for this when I'm mourning the death of my friend?" Mr Ominde told Firstline.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Mr Crosbie revealed yesterday that Mr Fellows took responsibility for driving the minivan, which had been carrying 16 group members, when it crashed.

This morning he told Radio New Zealand there appeared to have been an initial cover-up.

"I think you talk about a cover up and this appears to be an initial cover-up but there was never an intention, I believe, for a long-term cover-up because David was told to tell his family and to tell the school," he said.

"There was mayhem, there was people dying, Calvine had to do what he had to do to help and get people to hospital."

He agreed that it sounded like an attempt to pervert the course of Kenyan justice.

"Yes it does, and those people were told by a man that they trusted and respected in a foreign country what to do.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"I can only surmise that in a situation like this where there's a man like Calvine who they highly respect telling them what to do, then you do it."

Mr Ominde told Firstline the school "should tell us the truth about what happened".

The school has launched a private investigation following the latest revelation.

School board chairman Greg Hollister-Jones told Radio New Zealand the intention of the investigation was "so that the truth is told and learnt".

"We are a community that puts truth at the centre, and we need to know the truth. The second focus is what learnings the school can make because it wants to continue these overseas trips.''

He expected the investigation to take several weeks.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Police here said they would forward new information to Kenyan authorities through Interpol.

Lawyer Gary Gotlieb said had it been made known to Kenyan authorities that the 18-year-old had been driving, he would possibly be in a Kenyan jail right now.

The teenager could still be charged, Mr Gotlieb said.

Read more: NZ police to tell Kenyan authorities of driver swap cover-up

- APNZ, NZ Herald, Bay of Plenty Times

Save

    Share this article

Latest from New Zealand

New Zealand

Lawyer challenges 'plain wrong decision' in Jago's sexual abuse case

17 Jun 09:20 AM
New Zealand

Watch: Inside look after fire engulfs Auckland supermarket

17 Jun 08:15 AM
New Zealand|crime

Fit of rage: Man injures seven people in attack on partner, kids and neighbours

17 Jun 08:00 AM

Jono and Ben brew up a tea-fuelled adventure in Sri Lanka

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from New Zealand

Lawyer challenges 'plain wrong decision' in Jago's sexual abuse case

Lawyer challenges 'plain wrong decision' in Jago's sexual abuse case

17 Jun 09:20 AM

Former Act president's lawyer claims sentence was too harsh, calls for home detention.

Watch: Inside look after fire engulfs Auckland supermarket

Watch: Inside look after fire engulfs Auckland supermarket

17 Jun 08:15 AM
Fit of rage: Man injures seven people in attack on partner, kids and neighbours

Fit of rage: Man injures seven people in attack on partner, kids and neighbours

17 Jun 08:00 AM
Inside look: Damage revealed after fire engulfs Auckland supermarket

Inside look: Damage revealed after fire engulfs Auckland supermarket

Help for those helping hardest-hit
sponsored

Help for those helping hardest-hit

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP