Man’s tearful goodbye to wife, three children, brother killed in Salama crash
The gravesite of the seven family members who died in a road accident at Salama along the Nairobi-Mombasa highway during the burial service at Karirikania Farm in Kuresoi North, Nakuru County on April 16, 2024. Inset: Shadrack Mbao.
What you need to know:
- The magnitude of the grief in the family, was visible in the final sendoff.
- Overwhelmed by the financial burden that came with it, there was no printed eulogy.
In the solemn burial gathering on Tuesday, Shadrack Mbao sat in a wheelchair, his right hand in a blue cast and wrapped in a white bandage.
With trembling hands, he clutched a white cloth, using it to gently dry his tears as he struggled to come to terms with the immense grief that weighed heavily on him.
His eyes, red and swollen from crying, he gazed emptily ahead, the weight of his loss palpable after losing his wife, three children, his elder brother and two nieces in a road crash in the Salama area on the Mombasa-Nairobi highway two weeks ago.
Shadrack Mbao, who lost his wife and three children in a road accident at Salama along the Nairobi-Mombasa highway during the burial service at Karirikania Farm in Kuresoi North, Nakuru County on April 16, 2024.
Despite the physical pain evident from his injuries, it was the anguish of losing his loved ones that appeared to consume Mr Mbao.
The burial ceremony at Karirikania Secondary School in Kuresoi, Nakuru County, brought together friends, family, and the community as they grappled with the magnitude of the loss and rallied around the grieving family.
One by one, beside each other, the caskets of the seven family members who perished in the Salama accident were lowered to their graves, bringing their journey on earth to a sorrowful end.
Those who died in the crash were Mbao’s elder brother Francis Macharia, 61, his wife Irine Wangombe, 37, daughters Joyce Wairimu and Joyce Muthoni and son Lemy Macharia, 12.
His nieces Esther Nyambura, 12 and Esther Wanjiru Macharia, a Grade Four pupil, also perished in the crash.
If the magnitude of the grief ever took a toll on the family, it was visible in the final sendoff. Already overwhelmed by the financial burden that came with it, there was no printed eulogy.
The casket bearing the remains of the seven family members who died in a road accident at Salama along the Nairobi-Mombasa highway during the burial service at Karirikania Farm in Kuresoi North, Nakuru County on April 16, 2024.
The family instead read the heartfelt tributes of their loved ones from their phones, with others inscribing theirs on papers, with each word a testament to vibrant lives cut short through road carnage.
Mr Mbao’s tribute was read by his elder sister, Ms Miriam Njeri Macharia, a prison warden attached to Nakuru Main Prison.
In the tribute, Mr Mbao said that it is hard to accept the death of loved ones, especially when one did not get a chance to say goodbye and so shockingly in their prime.
He said that death had robbed him of his only source of happiness, describing his deceased wife of 14 years as a pillar of support.
"Your death has made me reflect and put things in perception, I am still in shock. She was my companion, wife and the mother of my children. Since you have left this world together with our children words cannot describe the emptiness inside me, Mr Mbao eulogised his wife.
"I get so lost without you and children. I wish to tell myself that you will be back someday to be with me again. I miss millions of things and every detail of who you are. I will truly miss you," he went on.
Shadrack Mbao, who lost his wife and three children in a road accident at Salama along the Nairobi-Mombasa highway during the burial service at Karirikania Farm in Kuresoi North, Nakuru County on April 16, 2024.
Ms Margret Njoki, whom the family had visited in Mombasa, recalled the good time they had only to be informed that they had died in an accident.
She said the family was happy when she accepted to host their April meeting.
"We had a good time and a memorable one. We visited so many places in Mombasa I never knew that would be the last time. Irene told us in the meeting that she will start a business. She joked about how she would sell uji until she trends on social media, we never knew she would trend in death. May your souls rest in peace,” she said.
Among the dignitaries who paid their respects were Water Cabinet Secretary Zachary Njeru and Nakuru Governor Susan Kihika.
Ms Kihika commended the family for "the unique bond and unity they had created."
The Governor promised to support them by employing two members at her county government.
Relatives of the seven family members who died in a road accident at Salama along the Nairobi-Mombasa highway read the tributes during the burial service at Karirikania Secondary School compound in Kuresoi North, Nakuru County on April 16, 2024.
Mr Edward Gitonga, chairman of the Speed Governors and Roads Safety Association, called upon the government to intensify efforts to curb the rising cases of road carnage.
He lamented the laxity in vehicle inspection, attributing it to the alarming rise in road accidents.
According to him, out of the 1.5 million vehicles in the country, only 300,000 underwent inspection last year, calling for the urgent need for regulatory intervention to address the issue.
