When Abaneas Barasa spoke to his bride-to-be for the last time, she was on her way to the Subukia Shrine for a pilgrimage last Saturday.
Veronica Ngandi called from Mtito Andei, about 250 kilometres from Mombasa, to tell him that the group had stopped for a meal. Before they resumed their journey, they spoke again.
Then came a question Barasa did not know would become one of his last memories of the woman he loved.
The couple had been preparing for their wedding early next year. In August, Mr Barasa had travelled with his parents and brothers from Busia to Kitui to pay dowry at Veronica’s family home.
Veronica Ngandi, one of the 17 Catholic pilgrims who died in the Salama crash on October 2, 2026.
Photo credit: Kevin Odit | Nation Media Group
Now, instead of planning their wedding, he is preparing to bury his bride-to-be.
Mr Barasa recalled receiving a call from the church early Saturday morning, with the caller asking whether he was travelling to Subukia before delivering the devastating news that the pilgrims had been involved in a crash and 17 people had died.
12 of the 17 pilgrims killed in a horrific multi-vehicle highway collision(from left): Florence Atieno, Hilcah Orina, Regina Mwai, Martha Nzyoki, Janet Miito, Veronicah Musyimi, Samuel Muigai, Veronica Ngandi, Scholastica Ochieng, Catherine Joseph, Ann Mwanthi and Josephat Mekonge.
Photo credit: Kevin Odit| NMG
Mr Barasa immediately called his wife, but there was no answer.
“I thought she was asleep. I called again, but she did not pick,” he said.
He then called a friend whose wife had also travelled in the vehicle. The friend tried calling his wife, but her phone was also unreachable.
“I panicked. I kept calling my wife, but no one picked,” Mr Barasa said.
Still, he could not bring himself to believe that Ms Ngandi was dead.
He rushed to the church and asked for the list of pilgrims who had travelled to Subukia. He scanned the names until he found his wife’s.
Even then, he needed to see her for himself.
“I was still in denial. I could not believe she was gone, and I kept calling her phone,” he said.
The final confirmation came at Sultan Hamud mortuary, where he travelled on Saturday with other relatives to identify the bodies.
“When I arrived and saw her body, that is when I realised she was no more,” he said.
The loss is made even more painful by how recently their plans had begun taking shape. Just weeks earlier, Mr Barasa had completed the traditional process of paying dowry, with the couple looking forward to their wedding and starting a life together.
“She has left me at a very early age. It is sad, and I just pray for her peace,” he said.
Abaneas Baraza, who lost his fiancée, Veronica Ngandi, in the Salama accident, pictured on October 5, 2026. They had planned to get married later this year.
Photo credit: Kevin Odit | Nation Media Group
Ms Ngandi was a teacher while Mr Barasa works in the transport industry. They had built a life together and had one child, who is now left without a mother.
“This is a big blow to us. I loved my wife, and she loved me back. We were preparing for our wedding early next year, but now I am left all alone with one child,” he said.
