Taita crash: 'I cautioned the driver about the steep road...seconds later we rolled'
Ms Susan Saru recuperates at the Moi County Referral Hospital in Voi yesterday. She is among 34 mourners who were in an accident at the Josa blackspot on the Wundanyi-Mwatate highway in Taita Taveta County.
Mourners in the ill-fated bus that killed 10 people on the spot at the Josa blackspot on the Wundanyi-Mwatate highway in Taita Taveta County on Saturday night have recounted their ordeal.
One of the passengers who lost two of his siblings and survived with injuries recalled the final moments before the crash.
Mr Baraka Mrabu said they had attended the burial of one of their friends in Mghambonyi, Wundanyi, on Saturday.
On their way back in the evening, and although the road to Mghambonyi was impassable due to flooding, the driver managed to navigate through to Wundanyi where they connected with the tarmacked Wundanyi-Mwatate road.
Upon reaching the Josa blackspot, he says, the bus overturned, killing 10 people on the spot and leaving 24 others with serious injuries.
“I cautioned him that the steep area required a very slow speed. Moments later, the breaks failed and he lost control of the vehicle," he said. The bus rolled several times before landing in a ditch.
Although he was yet to come to terms with the fact that two of his sisters died, Mr Mrabu told Nation he was grateful that he survived the accident.
His brother, who is a pastor in Likoni, was admitted to Mwatate sub-county Hospital in critical condition.
"It’s miraculous that I survived because it was a terrible accident," he said.
Narrating the ordeal from her hospital bed, Ms Susan Saru, another survivor of the 9pm accident, said she lost a relative in the incident.
Ms Saru said her grandmother died on the spot while her parents and her aunts are fighting for their lives at the Moi County Referral Hospital in Voi.
"I have not seen them but I have been informed that some of them are in critical condition. The incident has shocked us," she said.
Ms Saru said they had travelled to bury her cousin, who used to work as a medic in Ukunda, Kwale County.
"All was well until we reached Josa. I just heard a loud bang and the bus rolled down the steep barrier. I realised we were in a ditch and the vehicle was upside down," she said.
She said her efforts to rescue her relatives were futile as she was injured on her left hand and her forehead, and one of her eyes was swollen shut.
“I saw dead bodies and blood all over. I found my way out of the wreckage and went up the ditch to call people to help us rescue the survivors," she said.
She said the unfortunate incident had left her family and friends devastated.
The area has claimed many lives. Last November, four people died instantly after a bus belonging to Memon Secondary School rolled at the blackspot.
The bus was also ferrying mourners who were returning from a funeral in Ngerenyi in Wundanyi to Mombasa. The mourners were teachers at the school and had attended the burial of a colleague.
In 2019, a bus belonging to Taita Taveta University rolled at the same spot killing one student.
Leaders and government officials called for a redesign of the road to prevent more deaths.
Governor Andrew Mwadime, who visited survivors at Moi Hospital, pledged to reach out to the Kenya National Highway Authority (Kenha) to discuss what should be done about the stretch.
"I almost rolled there when I was campaigning in 2017. The area is a serious blackspot that needs to be rehabilitated to stop more deaths," he said.
Mwatate Sub-county Police Commander Morris Okul said there was need to erect a high wall to prevent vehicles from plunging into the ditch.
"As we look for a solution, we urge motorists to be cautious as they approach the stretch," he said. The county’s Department of Health has assured survivors of psychosocial support.
"We will transfer some patients to Coast General Teaching and Referral Hospital," said Health Executive Gifton Mkaya.
