Kiambaa church victim's agony of 70 surgeries, painful memories

At just 21, Anthony Mbuthia has gone through a harrowing experience at the thought of which many would shudder.

His most agonising moment was watching more than a dozen people burn to death and going through 70 surgeries.

Anthony was among the people who took refuge at a Kiambaa church on January 1, 2008 at the height of the 2007-2008 post-election violence, only for attackers to set it ablaze.

Although he escaped with his life, he suffered severe burns that have so far seen him in and out of numerous surgical theatres.

He estimates that he had over 50 visits to the theatre in Kenya and over 20 in the US, all of them spread over five years.

His story of survival is narrated in a new book, Scars of a Nation: Survivor of Kiambaa Church Massacre and the Elusive Justice.

SPECIALISED TREATMENT

Anthony was first taken to Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital before being admitted to Kijabe Mission Hospital, where he spent five months until the specialists released him, telling his parents there was nothing else they could do.

On their advice, he secured support to undergo specialised treatment in the US. The Kenyan government and other well-wishers helped pay for his travel to the US and accommodation.

“Had it not been for the modern medical techniques used to treat burns today, Anthony would have become badly disabled,” his father, Peter Mbuthia, told the Nation.

The surgeries he has undergone include being fitted with tissue expanders, an inflated balloon-like substance designed to stretch the skin and grow it flabby so that this skin is then pulled and sewn on the scars to cover them. He still wears a beanie to cover the scars.

COMA

At one time during surgery, something went terribly wrong with anaesthesia, resulting in his heart stopping, and he subsequently went into coma.

Most of the surgeries involved skin grafting and cleaning up his head. “At one point, a big part of his skull was exposed as a result of the regular scrubbing by doctors to clean off dead tissues from his head. Doctors had to refill the exposed parts with pieces of flesh from his buttocks,” the book notes.

On many occasions, his classes were interrupted because of visits to the hospital.

When asked if he knew that some people, including the President and his deputy, were charged at the ICC over the violence, and if he would like to pursue justice, he said he was not keen as he had forgiven them, and went on to quote Jesus, who said: “I forgive them for they knew not what they were doing.”

He hopes to start a foundation to help victims of conflicts and contribute in world peace.

Anthony has graduated from high school and now runs a YouTube channel known as Cheka Tu TV. He intends to study cinematography at university.