My child died in my hands as I struggled to save him

Caroline Kalekye (left) whose two-year-old baby died in Awasi crash and a relative mourn their deceased relative who perished on October 04, 2019 after an accident where 13 people died after a head-on collision between an Eldoret Express bus and a truck. (Denish Ochieng, Standard)

When Caroline Kalekye lulled her child to sleep a few minutes before midnight, she did not know that it was the last time she was seeing her son alive.

Baby Christopher Odhiambo had been restless during the trip and she had struggled to keep him asleep, even as he held her arms tightly during the trip.

It was a trip she had been skeptical about and had contemplated postponing, but fate had other plans. Her six-year-old son's teacher had advised her against making the trip to allow him continue learning at Akom Primary School, but she ignored the advice.

Now, she is blaming herself for not listening to the teacher. “My son would be alive had I listened," she said.

The mother had boarded the ill-fated Eldoret Express bus at Uyoma and had been looking forward to reaching Nairobi before continuing with her trip to Machakos to grace a family ceremony at her rural home.

Her other son was seated in a different row, sandwiched between two passengers, as she fussed over the younger child.

A few minutes after Awasi in Kisumu County, the mother of two fell asleep, only to be awakened by a loud bang and screams.

“My child died in my arms. I struggled to save him but without luck,” she said.

A huge metal rod crushed the neck of her baby as a truck rammed into their bus. She struggled to free the child in vain. She was also trapped, pinned by rod, before she passed out.

“The last thing I saw was a piece of metal pressing my baby before I blacked out. When I came to my senses moments later, I saw broken glasses and my dead baby trapped by the metal,” she said.

Yesterday, Kalekye was yet to know where the body of her baby had been taken, several hours after they were rushed to Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital (JOOTRH) for treatment.

She is grateful that her other son Januarius Ochieng escaped with injuries to his head, but is now in stable condition.

When the Saturday Standard caught up with her at JOOTRH, she was inconsolable.

Kalekye, who escaped with a cut on her cheek is among 35 people who survived the horrific crash that left 13 others dead.

She believes that quick intervention could have saved her son. “We stayed for more than an hour waiting for help and during that time, many of us were bleeding profusely,” said Kalekye.

Her husband, Boniface Odhiambo, said the death of their lastborn child has broken his family.

“I was asleep when I got several missed calls from my wife. When I called back, I was informed that we had lost our lastborn,” said Odhiambo.

He said he had been looking forward to take his lastborn son to school next year.

A number of survivors said the ill-fated vehicle was speeding, and that the driver was trying to overtake a tractor when the accident happened.