Act of valour: How Ian, 12, offered to die together with his sister Precious, 9
Precious Nyambura, 9, with her 12-year-old brother Ian Mwangi, who died in a road accident in Thika town on March 3, 2023, on their way home from school.
Ian Mwangi, 12, and his sister Precious Nyambura, 9, were among six pupils who were walking home from school last Friday when a ‘wild’ matatu came racing towards them.
The scene of the accident was a spot near Delview hotel on the outskirts of Thika town.
The matatu hit all six pupils but only the brother and sister died.
The two lost their lives in what witnesses said was an honorable act by a brave boy trying to save his sister's life.
“The vehicle had left the tarmac at the point where there are bumps. It headed straight for the young pupils. There were screams all over but I noted the boy jump clear of the approaching vehicle, pose for a moment to look back and then dive back into its way," Mr Joram Ng’ethe, a witness, said.
“The boy had only just managed to hold his sister by the left hand and try to drag her away from the matatu’s furious speed when they were knocked off their feet and tossed in the air. They fell with a thud on the tarmac."
According to the incident report at Gatanga police station, the vehicle’s driver had ferried mourners to a burial and was rushing back to Thika town’s main stage.
“In his hurry to beat the traffic jam, the driver, instead of slowing down, overlapped to avoid bumps, and in the process ploughed into the pupils who were walking on the pedestrians’ pathway,” the report says.
The siblings’ father, Mr John Kamande, told Nation.Africa that “all narrations from first-hand witnesses depict my son dying in an act of valour meant to save his sister”. He said the two were his pride and joy and that they were close.
“It is a big loss to me and my wife, who is yet to come to terms with it. We are in agreement that we need to dedicate our family to God since our firstborn son died in a road accident in 2018, aged 15, and now our second and third-born children have suffered the same fate (aged 12 and 9, respectively),” he said.
Mr Kamande said they are now afraid for their last-born daughter, who is only two and a half years old.
“God, we need you now more than ever. This jinx of road accidents claiming our children’s lives … it is scary,” he said in prayer.
“But God knows why and while we will continue praying that we are delivered from this yoke of death, we remain content that the Almighty Lord’s good plans for us are intact.”
The family plans to bury Ian and Precious in the same grave but in different caskets, following a ceremony at Ikuyu village in Maragua constituency on March 14.
“Though sad and painful, it is the only option available,” their father said.
Gatanga Police boss, Mr Lawrence Njeru, said the driver of the ill-fated matatu was arrested and released on a cash bail.
“We were waiting for the postmortem report to be filed. We were also waiting for the traffic police assessment report to be completed and we will also have independent investigations by the matatu’s insurer. We will now rearrest him and charge him appropriately,” he said.
Former Ichagaki MCA Charles Mwangi, whose home neighbours that of the family in the village, said justice must be served for the two children.
"The accident occurred near Kalro Farm as they were walking along Old Murang'a Road at around 5pm. It is unfortunate. We sincerely wish the families fortitude enough to bear [the pain]. I will help the family pursue justice from the courts and the insurer," he said.
The family's spokesman, Mr Gitau Gathitu, said: “We have accepted the will of God and are counselling the mourning parents so they can bear and accept what has happened.”
