How a reckless driver shattered a couple's Christmas plans
The scene of the accident, pictured on December 13, 2023, along Lang'ata Road in Nairobi, where a driver hit a total of five people and killed Shadrack Kimuyu, a sausage vendor. Inset: Mary Njenga whose son was injured in the accident. He is currently in ICU at Nairobi Hospital.
What you need to know:
- During the accident, a driver hit a total of five people, one of whom died, one is currently fighting for his life at Nairobi Hospital, while the other three sustained minor injuries and are doing well.
- Ms Syokau's husband was killed in a road accident in Lang'ata.
- Ms Syokau says the money the husband got from his business was the one that supported the family as well as his parents at their home.
Ms Elizabeth Syokau's joy at seeing her husband after two months was cut short this week when her husband was mowed down in Lang'ata sub-county, Nairobi County.
Until his death, Mr Shadrack Kimuyu was a sausage vendor along the busy Lang'ata Road, which was his daily source of livelihood.
Speaking to the Nation, Ms Syokau said she was really excited when her husband told her that he was going home today so that they could spend time together during the festive season.
"I was really happy when my husband told me that he was coming home but that never happened and I received another call that he had been beaten to death by a man who was drunk while he was serving a customer," Ms Syokau told the Nation on phone.
According to her, the money the husband got from the business was the one that supported the family as well as his parents at their home in Matungulu Sub-County, Machakos County.
Asked about some of the plans she had made before seeing her husband who last visited the home in October, Ms Syokau said the husband had even sent her money to buy wheat flour and she was supposed to prepare his favorite food which was chapati.
"For now, I don't even know where to start, I am now planning to travel to Nairobi and go to the city mortuary where his body was taken after the accident," she said.
The Nation is in possession of amateur videos taken after the accident showing the driver of the vehicle that caused the accident driving with all the front doors wide open.
The driver has been identified as Mr Victor Otieno, who works for an insurance company in the city. He had just left a busy bar in Lang'ata and was on his way home when the accident happened.
During the accident, he hit a total of five people, one of whom died, one is currently fighting for his life at Nairobi Hospital, while the other three sustained minor injuries and are doing well.
Mr Kenneth Njenga, 28, a student at the United States International University (USIU), is currently in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Nairobi Hospital.
Mary Njenga during an interview at Seefar Apartments in Langata Nairobi on December 13, 2023.
Speaking to the Daily Nation, his mother, Ms Mary Njenga, said her son had also undergone surgery at the same facility and all she was praying for was his recovery.
"All I am praying for is for my son to get well and for God to help him get back to his normal life. He has already undergone chest and stomach surgeries and we hope that he will be out of the ICU in the next three days," said Ms Njenga.
According to her, the son was able to remember everything that happened, but he was in so much pain and could be seen shedding tears.
Ms Njenga said the son told her that he saw a group of middle-aged people get into a vehicle parked behind him while he was buying some sausages, not knowing that the driver was going to reverse.
Mr Lucas Njenga, Mr Kenneth's brother, told the Nation that his brother had just stepped out of the house and within minutes received a call that he had been injured.
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Mr Njenga said they had decided to have sausages and tea for dinner and the brother decided to go and buy them, leaving him behind.
"Little did I know that my brother was about to be involved in a fatal accident that would leave him with serious injuries that have now led to surgery," he said.
He said a guard knocked on their door and told him that his brother had been knocked down and needed urgent help.
Dressed in a vest and pants, the brother rushed out of the house and asked a neighbor to lock the door while he went to the scene.
"I found my brother lying on the ground with all his wounds exposed. I tried to get a taxi or an ambulance, but I could not, which made the whole thing more complicated," he said.
According to him, a man on crutches who was on his way home got out of his car and offered to help take his brother to the hospital.
"Had it not been for this man, who also informed me that he had once been in an accident that was never attended to in time and that is why he was walking on crutches, my brother might have been dead by now," said Mr Njenga.
He said the man, whom he described as a good Samaritan, rushed the brother to St Mary's Hospital where he received first aid before being transferred to Nairobi Hospital.
The Nation contacted the man, identified as Mr Nicholas Orina, who said that when he realized that an accident had occurred and everyone was now after the driver of the vehicle.
He only asked if anyone was injured and offered to take them to the hospital.
"I am a victim of being left at the scene of an accident for hours and it really affected me. I did not want anyone to go through what I went through, so I decided to take him to the hospital," said Mr Orina.
