Sorrow engulfed residents of Gachami village, Nyeri County when two mourners travelling to bury their relative died in a road accident on Othaya-Nyeri road
One of the mourners died on the spot while the other one succumbed to injuries while receiving treatment in Othaya district hospital.
Nyeri South OCPD Adiel Nyange said the ill-fated bus was carrying the mourners to Laikipia East when it was it was involved in the accident.
One mourner died on the spot, he confirmed.
Mr Nyange said those injured were rushed to Othaya district hospital and the dead taken to Mukurweini hospital mortuary.
According to the nurse in-charge Saturday at the Othaya hospital, Ms Christine Githinji, they received 45 injured persons from the accident.
She said 12 are men, 27 women and six children.
“All the men and children we received are in a stable condition but five out of the 27 women are in a critical condition,” said Ms Githinji.
She said that one mourner succumbed to injuries while receiving treatment.
EXPRESSED SHOCK
The OCPD expressed his shock regarding how he was taking a body of a suspected gangster to the mortuary only to witness the fatal accident.
He said that he shot the suspect while stealing from a shop in Othaya trading centre on Friday night.
“I was taking the (suspect) to the mortuary but while on the way, I found the accident victims and had had to take the extra dead person, thus adding up the number and we had to take two people to the mortuary,” he said.
Mr Nyange said the accident occurred at around 9am, adding that they had not been able to confirm the cause of the accident.
He however said the Othaya-Nyeri road has many corners and drivers who are unfamiliar with the route could easily cause an accident.
“I urge all drivers to be vigilant on the roads so as to avoid such grisly road accidents, and this specifically applies to those unfamiliar with this road,” said the OCPD.
At Othaya district hospital, the nurse in charge said the accident caused confusion as the levels of injuries were serious.
“The situation was so sudden and we even had to recall the nurses who were on leave so as to assist us in rescue efforts,” she said.
She also said the driver of the bus had not been among the patients admitted at the hospital.
“We do not know where the driver is, we only heard that he was seen briefly, moments after the accident occurred and then disappeared,” she said.
She stated that the hospital referred some of the injured persons to Mathari Mission Hospital and this was confirmed by Mathari hospital’s nurse in-charge, Mr Jeremiah Motari.
He said they had admitted two patients at the intensive care unit while five are admitted to the normal patients’ ward unit in a stable condition, adding that the rest are receiving outpatient treatment.
WITNESS ACCOUNT
Mr Joseph Maina, one of the accident survivors who sustained hand and limb injuries, said they were travelling to Wiyumiririe village in Laikipia East to attend a relative’s burial.
Mr Maina said he did not understand why the bus rolled yet the driver was not speeding.
“I am still surprised and cannot comprehend why the bus was involved in the accident since the driver was driving slowly,” he said.
He further said that although most passengers had not fastened their safety belts, the vehicle’s safety belts were in a good condition.
He confirmed that most of the mourners were relatives and were accompanied by followers from the Anglican Church of Kenya branches of Thunguri and Ruguruti.
The planned burial was cancelled as a result of the accident.
Source: DAILY NATION
