- A bride from Kakamega told TUKO.co.ke reporters about the last moments before her family lost their lives in a road accident in Kodada
- She explained how she and her husband felt a great shock after losing people who were heroes and their advice
- The bride asked for help from the government while revealing the burden the family has been left with after the death of her supportive parents
A bride from Kakamega county has told a sad story when she heard that her parents and eight of her close relatives died in an accident on the Kisumu-Kisii highway, just a few hours after celebrating her wedding.
The victims were on their way home from a ceremony at Sichirai Church when a truck carrying cement collided head-on with their van in Kodada on Sunday, December 14.
The accident left six others injured, turning what would have been a happy day into a tragedy that shocked everyone.
Before Kodada’s accident, Haileen Kemunto, a counseling student at Baraton University, said the news shattered her world.
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He described the minutes he received a call informing him that his parents, uncle, aunt, and cousin had died on the way.
The family had planned to travel together to the bride’s home after the wedding, but the delay forced them to split into two groups.
“The one who was given the responsibility to take us all home was late, so my husband and I went first while the others stayed at the church,” he said. “We expected that they would join us later for food, but they said they were forced and would go straight to Nyamira. They only asked my brother to come and take their bags.”
When the car they planned to use was late, the group went to his brother’s car.
Kemunto said he was waiting at home without knowing that the tragedy had happened.
“The news hit me hard. The church members celebrated us and treated us like their children. Many wanted to come home for the wedding, but the car was not there. When I heard the news, I was confused. I felt guilty, thinking that if I had not called them, they would still be alive. My husband says this death is like a dream. He does not believe that people can leave his house and die on the way. These were the people we relied on, our advisors,” he said.
Kemunto revealed that the bodies were badly decomposed, and the burial could take place between Friday and Monday.
Haileen Kemunto, the youngest child in her family, said her parents were very supportive.
Now 41, she is responsible for her four children—two in college, one in Form Three—as well as three orphans from her uncle.
Kemunto asked for help from the national government and Kakamega county.
According to Kemunto, his Form Three son owes school fees of KSh 100,000, which the parents had already promised to pay.
He also expressed his concern for his injured siblings and their children, who depended on their dead parents.
“One of their children has finished Form Four and the other KJSEA. I would really like to see them continue their studies,” he said.
The survivors of the Kodada accident narrated how the accident happened.
Geoffrey Achoki said that the truck hit the driver’s side of the van, affecting the driver and the passenger sitting behind him before damaging the entire side of the van up to the rear seats.
Speaking from his hospital bed, he said bodies were strewn on the floor, while many of the injured were rushed to Rachuonyo County Hospital for emergency treatment.
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Source: TUKO.co.ke
