Johannes Ariyo one of the lucky survivors of Tharakanithi modern coast accident narrates his ordeal.He was in the company of his son and his son’s fiancee who perished on the spot.They boarded the bus at Maua and were headed to Mombasa, to conclude his son,s dowry negotiation, which was cut short.
The Modern Coast bus plunged 40 metres down the Nithi bridge in Tharaka Nithi County killing 34 people
According to Ariyo the bus had mechanical problems from the beginning of the journey. He narrates how the journey was uncomfortable.The driver drove at a slow speed on slopes ,pointing out that the bus had faulty brakes.The bus would also produce unusual noises when gears were changed.
“He finished a hill before we came to the accident scene, when he tried changing the gear with the faulty brakes, the bus started going at a high speed. The driver’s efforts in successfully taking the first, second and third bends paid off, but the fourth one became hard and that is when the bus flipped,” Ariyo recounts
In Kilifi, another family is mourning the death of their daughter, Dr Mary Mwandisha. The doctor, 28, was on her way to Taita-Taveta to collect her appointment letter after a successful interview. She had worked for three months at Lifetime Hospital in Meru.
Ken Mwenda, an IT expert working in Mombasa, travelled to Meru last Wednesday to attend a relative’s burial. On Saturday, after the ceremony, he told his best friend, Mr Rodgers Kamanja, that he was yearning to return to the coast to see his family. That was the last time Mr Kamanja heard from his friend.
Mama Mercy , wife to modern coast driver opens up on their last moments
In his 2017 campaign manifesto, Tharaka-Nithi Governor Muthomi Njuki promised to speed up the re-engineering of the bridge within his first 100 days in office. However, nothing is yet to happen.
