Tears as family which perished in road accident is buried

Coffins bearing the remains of Peter Kimani, his wife Zipporah Kimani and son David Gikonyo died in a grisly road accident at Kinungi last week.They were buried yesterday in their Ruiru home. [PHOTO: KAMAU MAICHUHIE].

Grief engulfed Gatong’ora village in Ruiru, Kiambu County, yesterday as three family members who died in a road accident last week were buried.

Peter Kimani, his wife Zipporah Kimani and son David Gikonyo died in the crash that occurred at the Kinungi black spot. They were headed for a friend’s funeral in Molo, Nakuru County.

Zipporah and Gikonyo died on the spot while Kimani died at the Naivasha Sub-District Hospital.

The couple’s daughter, Grace Wambui, died just a month ago after a short illness shortly after her graduation from university.

Yesterday, friends and relatives were lost for words as they paid their last respects. Many stared at the three caskets in disbelief as tears flowed freely.

A newspaper obituary on September 5, 2018.

Calls for motorists to exercise caution dominated speeches by relatives, friends and leaders who attended the funeral.

Close relatives recalled how close the family was and how devastated they were when they lost Wambui.

Two months

“This is too hard for us as a family. The last two months have been difficult for us. It all began with the death of Wambui and even before the dust could settle on her untimely death, the entire family perished in a road crash,” one relative said.

Director of Veterinary Services Obadiah Njagi said time had come for Kenyans to reflect on their behaviour on the roads.

The car that was involved in an accident that claimed lives of three family members. [David Gichuru, Standard]

“It is high time we did this (exercised caution) because in a split second, someone’s miscalculations could lead to the death of an entire family as happened last week.”

Kimani was a mechanic at Kabete Veterinary Laboratory. Dr Njagi eulogised him as a dedicated and hard working man.

Colleagues described him as jovial and one who always made people laugh.

Kiambu Senator Kimani Wamatangi, who also chairs the Senate Transport committee, promised to take action regarding the killer Kinungi stretch to avert more accidents.

“Something definitely has to be done because the way (traffic) officers are enforcing traffic rules in Kinungi is very wanting. There seems to be a lot of laxity on the side of the police,” he said.