James Kihara Wambui, a Narok-based driver who lost his left hand in an attack by a gang of youths during the demolition of a market shows his severed limb on December 11, 2024, in Narok town.
Six years ago, James Kihara's life was changed forever by an attack that left him permanently disabled.
On September 2, 2018, he lost his lower left hand in a brutal assault by a gang of youths over a dispute that had nothing to do with him.
The attack, which took place in Narok, left two people dead, according to the then County Commissioner George Natembeya, now Trans Nzoia County governor.
The incident remains unresolved as no one has ever been arrested, even after it was reported to Narok police station under OB 38/12/9/2018.
In the aftermath, Kihara's life took a turn for the worse. His search for a prosthetic limb, which he hoped would restore the use of his left hand, was unsuccessful due to the high cost.
And even as he struggled to make ends meet, his marriage collapsed and he drifted into loneliness.
Chaos
“I remember very well that Sunday morning as if the events happened today. It started off as a slow, lazy day with few passengers travelling to Nairobi from Narok town. After hanging around the stage (Total petrol station) for several hours, I decided to return to the house and rest. I delegated my duties to a driver on standby,” he recalled the day of the attack in an interview with Nation.Africa.
On his way back, he found himself in the middle of chaos.
“As I arrived at the Majengo area, I saw people running in all directions and being chased by a gang of youths. I later realised they were protesting against the demolition at Uhuru Market to make way for new facilities,” Kihara explained.
He says he tried to avoid the commotion and stepped aside, but was elbowed out of the way and knocked down, landing in a ditch.
"Before I could get up, the gang attacked me and beat me mercilessly with crude weapons. Within minutes I was bleeding profusely before I passed out. I was left for dead in the ditch," he says.
Passers-by eventually recognised him and called the police, but the officers were slow to respond.
Despite the blood around him, no one dared to move him for fear that he might die in their hands. When the police arrived, they rushed him to the Narok County Referral Hospital where doctors immediately took him to the theatre.
Unfortunately, the efforts to reconstruct his severed limb failed.
“I was shocked to realise that I had lost part of my hand. Attempts to plead with the doctors to repair it were fruitless. They told me that I had bled too much and overstayed at the scene making surgery impossible,” Kihara recalls.
The realisation that he had lost his hand set the stage for a new chapter in his life, one that would be filled with challenges.
His transformation from a physically fit driver to someone living with a disability was jolting. A week after the attack, he was discharged from the hospital but his difficulties were just beginning.
“When the money ran out, several challenges set in and I was kicked out of my rental house. At the time, I had been unwell for several months and was taken in by my auntie as I sought to get a balance and bearing,” Kihara says.
But determined to make ends meet, he took on odd jobs to survive returning to the main stage where he worked as a turn boy and occasionally moved vehicles from one point to another for a fee.
Disability
Though he was still capable of driving with one hand, no one would offer him a full-time job due to his disability. The law also prohibited him from driving a public service vehicle unless it was specially adapted for his condition.
He recalls a painful moment when a police officer unaware of his presence spoke harshly about him. “One time, I was driving and a police officer who knew me well spoke so badly of me without realizing I was quietly following the conversation. In the end, I turned to him and asked him what he would have done in my shoes, with the disability I had been forced into,” says Kihara.
This moment was just one of many in which Kihara had to confront the harsh realities of life with his new disability. He also had to come to terms with an early retirement he hadn’t planned for.
“Before I accepted my current status, I was in denial for several months and went into depression. I once lost sleep for four straight days and a relative brought me a sleeping pill which I took for a week. It worked and eventually, I normalised,” he says.
Despite the physical and emotional hurdles, the father of two has never given up on his dream of regaining full independence.
He has many times sought an artificial limb but the costs remain out of reach.
“Initially, I was told four years ago that it would cost me Sh350,000 to get an artificial limb but when I checked recently, the price had shot up to more than Sh600,000,” he explains. “I do not have the money to pay for it, and my attempts to get a donor, including seeking support from local leaders, have failed. But I have not given up. I will keep trying and praying. One day, a door may open.”
He adds: “It is awkward to live off others when it is possible to fend for yourself. The lack of money has put me down. But one day, I hope to surmount the challenges that I am faced with in life.”
In the meantime, Kihara continues to survive on odd jobs clinging to the hope that better days lie ahead.
