It took long to move Gakuru from crash scene, inquest told

Ambulances and police officers failed to rescue the former Nyeri Governor Wahome Gakuru from the wreckage of his car following a crash at Kabati in Murang’a along the Nyeri-Nairobi highway on November 7, 2017, witnesses have told a court.

At the start of a public inquest into Dr Gakuru’s death on Wednesday, three witnesses led by the former governor’s private personal assistant Josphat Mwangi Maina and two body guards, Corporal Peter Mwaniki Maigua and Corporal Samson Lekol, said the governor stayed at the scene of crash for more than 40 minutes bleeding profusely.

The inquest is looking into the circumstances that caused the governor’s death.

RESCUE

Nyeri Senior Resident Magistrate Maisi Chesang heard that two ambulances and a helicopter sent to rescue the governor turned up later at the Thika Level Five Hospital.

Also, Murang’a Governor Mwangi Wa Iria and Kiambu’s Ferdinand Waititu went to the hospital to check on Dr Gakuru’s state.

In the crash that happened at Makenji, a few kilometres to Thika Town, Dr Gakuru’s driver, Samson Kinyanjui, lost control of the vehicle – a Mercedes Mercedes E250 – and rammed into a guard rail which tore trough the car, entering through the front and exiting at the rear.

“When we were struggling to rescue him, his blood was flowing through the guard rail onto the road,” said Mr Lekol while being cross examined by Senior Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions Peter Mairanyi.

SLIPPERY ROAD

The witness, who was in the governor’s chase car, said it was misty throughout the journey from Nyeri town and the road was slippery and that it was sloppy at the area where the crash happened.

The vehicles were driving at a speed of about 130 kilometres per hour since the governor, who was only three months in office, was in hurry to attend an interview at a local TV station.

LORRY

The crash occurred after the governor’s driver overtook a lorry on the highway and swerved back to the left lane.

“While in the chase car, at no time did we lose sight of the Mercedes vehicle. The Mercedes was about 20 to 30 metres from the lorry when it veered off the road and hit the guard rail. There was no vehicle or anything ahead of the Mercedes when the accident occurred,” said the witnesses.

The metallic rail pierced through the governor’s car as it moved for about 40 metres.

As members of the public and his security detail struggled to rescue him, the governor was calm and was holding Mr Maina’s hand but was not speaking. He was fatally injured by the rail on the hips and at the back.

SECURITY HEAD

Mr Maina was also the head of the governor’s security detail and initially introduced himself to the officers as detective from Directorate of Criminal Investigations, though they later came to learn that he was just a civilian.

Together with the governor in his vehicle, the court heard, was his official personal assistant Albert Gakuru, driver Smason Kinyanjui and security guard identified as Ahmed Khaliff Abdi.

Prior to his death, the witnesses said, the governor would regularly change drivers and would at times drive himself due to security concerns.

“Sometimes he would refuse to be driven and he would tell off the driver on duty and direct him to sit at the back and drive himself,” said the witnesses.

Mr Kinyanjui had driven the Mercedes vehicle for about three weeks and was initially driving a county government’s ambulance.

The State has lined up 20 witnesses in the inquest which was adjourned to March 6, 2019.