Murang’a family devastated as 10 relatives die in Kikopey road crash

The victims were among 17 family members traveling in a 14-seater matatu headed to Nakuru for a family visit. 

The trip, meant to unite relatives and bring cheer to ailing kin, ended in tragedy when the matatu collided head-on with a trailer along the busy Nakuru–Nairobi highway.

Patrick Mburu, one of the bereaved, recounted the painful toll. “In that vehicle were my parents, Elija and Lydiah Mburu, my sisters Pauline, Naomi, Joyce, and Catherine, my nephew, and my uncle,” he said, his voice heavy with grief.

The matatu was being driven by Elijah Mburu, a grandson in the family. Among those who survived were three relatives — two adults and a four-year-old child — who are now fighting for their lives in hospital.

For some, fate provided a narrow escape. Rodovic Gikonyo, another family member, revealed he was meant to join the ill-fated trip but stayed behind due to an urgent matter concerning his daughter’s education. 

“Had it not been for that emergency, we too would have been in that vehicle,” he said.

Another family in the matatu also suffered tragedy. Steven Gicharu lost his wife and daughter in the crash, while his four-year-old son remains hospitalized in critical condition. “The pain is unbearable,” he said, holding back tears.

Back in Kandara, Murang’a, grief-stricken neighbors and relatives are struggling to comprehend the scale of the loss. 

In Rongai, Nakuru, where the family was headed, preparations had been made to receive them. Food and seats lay untouched — grim reminders of a reunion that never was.

The driver of the trailer involved in the collision, Juakali Vahavuka, said he attempted to avoid the matatu but could not.

 “I tried to swerve, but the matatu seemed to be at high speed. It hit me,” he recounted.

The bodies of the deceased have been preserved at Nakuru PGH mortuary, awaiting postmortem examinations as the families begin painful preparations for burial.

For now, the communities in Murang’a and Nakuru remain united in grief, praying for the recovery of the survivors and mourning a tragedy that has nearly wiped out an entire family.