Until Monday, April 17, Martha Mwihaki was a doting mother of one and a dedicated student at Koige Secondary School in Kuresoi North.
Then at around 6:30 pm, tragedy struck: The 18-year-old was knocked down by a Tahmeed bus as she walked home near Mau Summit on the Nakuru-Eldoret highway.
The Form Four student, who was the first-born, has left behind a 16-month-old daughter.
The accident, which happened about 200 metres away from Mwihaki’s home, also claimed the lives of three other people who were passengers.
But for Mwihaki, it was a case of being at the wrong place at the wrong time.
On that day, the driver of the bus belonging to Tahmeed Bus Company lost control of the vehicle and hit Mwihaki before landing in a ditch.
Kuresoi North sub-county police commander Judah Gathenge told the Nation that the bus was travelling from Eldoret to Nakuru when the accident occurred.
“It was a self-involving accident. The Tahmeed bus was coming from Eldoret towards Nakuru but on reaching the Jogoo area, the driver lost control and it veered off the road before landing in a ditch,” Mr Gathenge told the Nation.
Mr Daniel Korir, the father to Martha Mwihaki, sobs as he talks to the press at Molo mortuary where he had gone to view and identify the body of his daughter.
“The bus hit the secondary school student who was coming from school before it landed in a ditch,” the police boss explained.
In an interview, Mwihaki’s mother, Mary Njeri, who is still coming to terms with the death of her first-born daughter, revealed that she received the tragic news from a neighbour.
Ms Njeri, who runs a beauty salon in Jogoo, said after the accident, one of her neighbours asked her to rush to the scene to confirm if her daughter was among the victims.
Life will never be the same
“I was shocked to learn that my daughter had died in the accident. I have lost my favourite child. I am heartbroken but I leave everything to God,” said a tearful Ms Njeri.
“I have not only lost a daughter but also my best friend. I have lost everything but I leave everything to God. Mwihaki was a beautiful girl with a bright future. That explains why she decided to go back to school even after giving birth in Form Two,” the mother told the Nation.
“My life will never be the same, I am heartbroken,” she added.
Recalling her last moments with her daughter, Ms Njeri said they had breakfast together before Mwihaki went to school on Monday morning.
“Little did she know that she would not come home alive,” the mother said.
Relatives of four of the deceased people outside the Molo Sub-county hospital’s mortuary waiting to identify the bodies of their loved ones. The Monday evening accident that involved a Mombasa-bound bus at Jogoo trading Centre along the Nakuru-Eldoret highway claimed four lives among them Ms Martha Mwihaki.
She described Mwihaki as a hardworking, humble, cheerful and bright girl who was focused on achieving her dreams.
“She was passionate about engineering. It is sad that she died without achieving her dreams. She died 200 metres from our house,” she said.
Mwihaki’s father, Mr Daniel Korir, a resident of Kwa Twin in Total, said he was at work when he was told by a friend that there had been an accident near his house involving school children.
According to Mr Korir, the friend told him that his child was among the victims and that he should rush to the scene.
By the time he arrived, all the bodies had been taken to Molo Hospital mortuary.
He said he called his uncle, who confirmed that Mwihaki was among the victims.
“I had switched off my mobile phone. When my friend told me that my child had been killed, I was confused. I later found out that it was my daughter Mwihaki,” he recalled.
“I had so much hope for my daughter. I don’t have a steady job, but I worked hard to give her a good education so she could have a better future. She came home with her friends, but her life was cut short. Mwihaki was a good girl, I will miss her a lot,” he added.
By Thursday, the family had begun making burial arrangements. BY DAILY NATION