The incident occurred on August 14, 2024, when the child, whose name has been withheld for safety reasons, used a slingshot to throw a stone, shattering the window of the bus with registration number T 385 EEU, a Yutong model.
Iringa. In an unusual incident, passengers on a Shabiby Line bus traveling from Mbeya to Dodoma via Iringa were delayed for nearly an hour and a half after a four-year-old child from Ndolela Village, Kihorogota Ward, Iringa District, broke a window of the bus using a slingshot.
The incident occurred on August 14, 2024, when the child, whose name has been withheld for safety reasons, used a slingshot to throw a stone, shattering the window of the bus with registration number T 385 EEU, a Yutong model.
The bus driver was compelled to stop, and all passengers disembarked to search for the child, who had fled to his grandmother’s house located a few meters from the Iringa-Dodoma road.
The child, a preschool pupil at Ndolela Primary School, ran home after the incident. His grandmother, Yusufu, initially tried to conceal the child by claiming he was sick, but this was later revealed to be a ruse to protect him.
An eyewitness, an elderly woman over 80 years old who was among the passengers, reported seeing the child wearing a shirt with stripes and holding a slingshot before he threw the stone and ran inside.
Ndolela Village Executive Officer Maria Lazaro confirmed the incident but declined to provide further details, citing a lack of authorization from Iringa District Council Executive Director Robert Masunya.
Neighbors who spoke to The Citizen described the child as mischievous, noting that this was the second time he had caused such an incident, leading to fines previously paid by his grandmother.
In this case, the grandmother was required to pay Sh170,000 to cover the cost of replacing the broken bus window. The payment was made at the village executive’s office, where she also received a stern warning.
The passengers resumed their journey at 12:30 PM and reached Dodoma at 4:15pm, instead of the scheduled 2:30pm. Some passengers were rushing to catch the SGR train to Dar es Salaam, and one narrowly avoided being hit by the stone that broke the window.
