In Murang’a, sorrow has engulfed an entire community after a devastating crash at Kikopey on Sunday claimed ten members of the same family.
They had set out for Nakuru in a 14-seater matatu, a journey meant to bring joy and comfort to ailing relatives. Instead, it ended in grief when the vehicle collided head-on with a trailer on the busy Nakuru–Nairobi highway.
Among the dead were grandparents Elija and Lydiah Mburu, their four daughters, a nephew, and an uncle. The matatu was being driven by their grandson, Elijah Mburu.
“In that vehicle were my parents, my sisters, my nephew, and my uncle,” said Patrick Mburu, a surviving relative, struggling to contain his emotions. “We have lost almost everyone.”
Seventeen people were squeezed into the matatu at the time of the crash. Only three from the family survived — two adults and a four-year-old child — all of them now in critical condition in hospital.
The scale of the tragedy has been felt beyond Murang’a. In Rongai, Nakuru, where the family was expected, relatives had prepared food and set up seats for a reunion that would never happen.
Rodovic Gikonyo, another family member, said he was meant to travel with them. “Had it not been for an urgent matter with my daughter’s school, I would have been in that vehicle too,” he said.
The grief did not end with one family. Another passenger, Steven Gicharu, lost his wife and daughter in the collision. His young son is fighting for his life. “The pain is unbearable,” he said quietly.
The trailer driver, Juakali Vahavuka, recounted the crash from his hospital bed. “I tried to swerve, but the matatu seemed to be at high speed. It hit me,” he said.
The bodies have been taken to Nakuru Provincial General Hospital mortuary, where postmortem examinations are due. Families are now preparing for mass burials in Murang’a, even as prayers continue for the injured.
Back in Kandara, neighbours sat in stunned silence outside the Mburu homestead. “It is as if our entire village has been wounded,” one elder said.
As Kenya reels from yet another deadly road accident, questions about safety on its highways remain. For now, two counties — Murang’a and Nakuru — are bound together in grief, mourning lives cut short in a journey meant to unite.
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