Sachang’wan three years later

By Karanja Njoroge

Three years ago, 200 people perished in a fire after an oil tanker from which they were siphoning petrol burst into flames.

The tragedy thrust the little known Sachang’wan village in Molo District into the limelight as Kenyans sought to come to terms with the catastrophe described ‘as a scene from hell’ by witnesses.

Richard Tanui, 43, was one of those who escaped death narrowly when the tanker caught fire and burst into flames.

"I had hiked a lift and was on my way home from Molo town when on reaching where the tanker was, I decided to alight and walk home," he recalls.

Then, he didn’t know that the tanker was about to explode and change his life forever.

Tanui, who still bears scars on both legs, says there was a traffic jam on the busy highway as residents scrambled to siphon oil from the overturned tanker.

It was then that he decided it would be easier to walk to his home located only a few kilometres from the ill-fated tanker.

"Moments after I had started walking, I heard a loud explosion and a huge inferno engulfed the nearby forest."

He started running towards the forest as loud screams and wailing rent the air from the direction he was coming from.

But his efforts to escape from the inferno were hampered after his legs and shoes, which had traces of the fuel, caught fire.

"My legs caught fire as I had stepped on the fuel on my way home. I panicked and dropped a paper bag containing potatoes that I was carrying. That is all I remember about that day."

He later found himself at the Nakuru Provincial General Hospital where he was rushed after sustaining the burns.

Other survivors in the village have also lived with scars, a constant reminder of their lucky escape.

Almost every homestead in the sleepy village lost a relative, friend or neighbour.

A mausoleum constructed in honour of the victims in the village ensures the survivors don’t forget that fateful day and what befell their village.

Sofina Kenduiywa was routinely attending to her household chores when a huge smoke billowing above the nearby thicket caught her attention.

Burnt many people

"Moments later people were running all over and on enquiring from a neighbour, I was told there was a fire which had burnt many people," she adds.

A bigger shock awaited her after she learnt her 27-year-old son was among those at the scene when the fire started.

"I could not believe it when my son who had burns all over his body was brought home. I passed out," she added.

Her son, Bernard Ngetich, later succumbed to the injuries at the Nakuru Provincial General Hospital leaving behind two children.

She says life for her family has not been the same as they solely depended on him for upkeep. The Sh50,000 she received from the Government was long exhausted and promises made during the funeral evaporated into thin air.

Haunt him

For Davis Sigei, the psychological effects of the tragedy continue to haunt him, having cheated death by a whisker and lost close friends.

"I thought everyone managed to flee from the scene and was shocked when I later learnt while in hospital that some of my close friends I was with just minutes earlier were burnt alive."

He says his skin is sensitive to heat and he cannot expose himself to the sun for long.

Since that harrowing experience, the casual labourer says, he is usually irritable and his moods keep changing.

Many survivors The Standard talked to said they were victims of circumstances; they were just passing by or curiosity drove them to the scene when they caught fire. They don’t say they were siphoning oil when the tanker burst into flames.

But Mercy Chelangat says her elder brother had joined other youths in siphoning the fuel as he didn’t know it is a death trap.

"He had already collected the fuel and hidden it in the forest but as he escaped from the scene with his container, the huge inferno that engulfed the forest caught him," she recollects.

When the fire finally went cold, the victims were laid to rest in a mass grave and a mausoleum made in their memory. According to Daniel Rono, the caretaker, residents along the busy highway who used to rush to accident scenes to pilfer goods from trucks and other vehicles learnt a lesson and changed.

"These days when a lorry overturns, instead of rushing to the scene, most residents head towards the opposite direction," Rono adds.

The tragedy, says Rono, has also brought communities together irrespective of tribe and taught them the need to appreciate each other.

"After the incident people learnt to live together regardless of their tribe and now appreciate each other more," Rono added.

Engraved names

While the wounds sustained during the fire require regular medical care, most survivors lack sufficient funds to seek specialised medical care.

The names of 130 victims who were burned beyond recognition are engraved in the plaque at the mausoleum.

Seventy-eight of them were laid to rest in a mass grave during a burial ceremony attended by President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga.

Another 69 died in hospital and were buried by their relatives while the rest, who were badly maimed, were hospitalised and later discharged.

The cause of the fire remains a mystery though some residents claim it was started by a disgruntled person who lit a cigarette after being denied permission to fetch the fuel.