Ms Selina Kemunto (centre) mourns her sons Godfrey Omwocha (in red shirt) and Jorum Atandi who died in the Ngata road accident on April 9, 2024.
A Nakuru family is mourning their first and last-born sons who died in a road crash in Ngata. Seven people perished in the accident.
Tuesday started as an ordinary day for Ms Selina Kemunto, unaware of the impending tragedy.
Hours later, her two sons Godfrey Omwocha, 34, and his younger brother Jorum Atandi, 21, lay lifeless in the Nakuru Annex mortuary.
Omwocha was the driver of the ill-fated 14-seater matatu while his younger brother, Atandi, was the conductor.
The two brothers were in the business of ferrying passengers from Nakuru to Kisii and back.
Police officers at the scene of the accident on April 9, 2024.
Ms Kemunto said she was informed of the accident involving her sons and rushed to the mortuary to confirm their identities.
“I silently prayed, seeking strength to face the unbearable truth. With the help of my relatives, I went in to view my sons’ bodies. I have lost my two precious sons, they were breadwinners in my family since I am a widow.
“I never knew I would ever lose two children at the same time through an accident. They were a source of hope but their lives have been cut short,” she said.
Mr Joseph Nyangweso, a relative who spoke on behalf of the family recounted how Mr Omwocha had called at 3am to say he was about to leave for Kisii, as he was also supposed to pick up another family member.
The wreckage of a 14-seater matatu that collided head-on with a trailer in Ngata area on the Nakuru-Eldoret highway.
Concerned when calls to Mr Omwocha went unanswered, Mr Nyangweso was later informed at 5am that the two had been involved in an accident.
Describing the two as hardworking and disciplined, Mr Nyangweso explained how Omwocha had brought his younger brother, Atandi, to work as a conductor after he completed secondary school in 2022, aiming to steer him away from drugs and bad company.
The scene of the accident on April 9, 2024.
“I do not know why he did not come to pick up the other relative. After the distressing call, we rushed to the scene. It was horrific; the bodies had not been removed from the wreckage. I cried when the officers were moving their bodies. Seeing the two dead was devastating,” Mr Nyangweso recalled.
