Ten dead in morning matatu crash along Mataara-Murang’a road in Gatundu

Murang'a Governor Mwangi Wa Iria at Thika Level Five Hospital consoles Patrick Mwangi (in red cap), a survivor of the accident that claimed 10 lives after the matatu they were travelling in plunged into Nyakibai River in Gatundu North, Kiambu County. PHOTO | OLIVER MUSEMBI | NATION MEDIA GROUP 

In Summary

• The overloaded matatu was swept by the raging waters as it tried to cross the flooded river.
• Preliminary police investigations revealed that the vehicle lost its brakes before plunging into the river.
• A woman and her three grandchildren, as well as the matatu driver were among the dead.
• Murang’a Governor Mwangi Wa Iria was among the first people to visit the survivors in hospital and to condole the families.

By OLIVER MUSEMBI
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Ten people died when a matatu they were travelling in plunged into a swollen river in Gatundu North, Kiambu County early Sunday.

Four others survived the accident which occurred at Nyakibai River near Mataara shopping centre and were treated at the Thika Level 5 Hospital and discharged.

A woman and her three grandchildren, as well as the matatu driver were among the dead.

Bodies of the victims, four women, two men and four children were taken to the hospital’s General Kago Funeral Home.

The matatu, belonging to 2NK Sacco, had been hired to take the residents Gathugu Village in Kandara Sub-County of Murang’a to a dowry ceremony in Nyahururu and they were going back home at night when the tragedy occurred.

A survivor, Patrick Mwangi, said the vehicle which had 14 occupants including the driver, was going up a steep slope at a sharp bend when it rolled landed upside down in the river.

“The driver lost control after he failed to negotiate the corner and people started screaming as we rolled.

“I struggled to get out of the vehicle which was submerged in water and I thank God I survived the ordeal uninjured,” Mr Mwangi told reporters at the hospital.

FROM SAME VILLAGE

Many of the dead were from the same village.

They included Rosemary Muthoni and her three grandchildren Kennedy Wanyoike, 9, Faith Wairimu, 6 and Triziah Njeri, aged eight months.

The children’s mother Priscilla Wambui said she had left them with her grandmother to go and look for a job in Nairobi and was informed of the accident Sunday morning.

Murang’a Governor Mwangi Wa Iria was among the first people to visit the survivors in hospital and to condole the families.

He was accompanied by a number of MCAs and other county officials.

“This is a big blow to the village and a huge burden to the affected families,” he said.

Mr Wa Iria pledged that the county government would assist the families with funeral arrangements and clear all hospital bills.

He appealed to drivers to observe traffic regulations and be extra cautious during the ongoing rainy season. He also asked people to avoid travelling at night.

There was a hitch when medical staff at the Thika hospital refused to release an ambulance to take the survivors to Kenyatta National Hospital for scans before a Sh10,000 deposit was paid.

This prompted Governor Wa Iria to order for an ambulance from Murang’a which took more than an hour to arrive.