'Maai Mahiu floods snatched my beloved son from my hands'

Mai Mahiu floods survivor Bernard Ndungu. He lost two sons. [George Njunge, Standard]

The raging Mai Mahiu floods snatched a child from the safety of his father's hands in Ruiru village.

Bernard Ndung'u painfully recounted how in a split second the floods swept away Rowan Mwangi, 5.

Ndung'u said he was asleep with his sons, Mwangi and Maxwell Kamau in their five-roomed house when disaster struck.

His wife and two daughters were away in Limuru.

“Between 1 and 2 am I heard a loud bang. I woke up and before I could figure out what was happening my room was filled with water," he said.

"I could not comprehend the sudden turn of events. I heard a faint scream from my other boy who was sleeping in another room. I held Mwangi tightly with my hands to save him,” Ndung'u said.

He said that suddenly the raging floods brought down his permanent house and a huge boulder hit him before the water snatched away the boy from his hands.

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“I could not hold him any longer, the velocity of the water was too much and the house had already been swept away. I think by then Maxwell had already been swept away, as I struggled. I was also hit on the head and I was swept away for approximately one kilometer. The water left me half buried in the mud,” he said.

Ndungu recounted that he stayed in the mud for several hours before neighbours and the police rescued him.

The father of four said he kept hope alive with a prayer.

“Around 6am, I saw a group of people in the village and I screamed to attract their attention. They hurriedly came towards me and plucked me out of the sludge. I was naked and badly bruised, they carried me to a nearby house and dressed me up,” he said.

He was taken for first aid at a Mai Mahiu dispensary before being transferred to Naivasha Level Four Hospital and later to Life Care in Kikuyu.

“I was subconscious and writhing in pain. I could not tell where my two boys were as my wife and my colleagues wheeled me to Kikuyu,” he said.

Ndungu was admitted to Life Care and it was at that point that his wife broke the sad news of the demise of their sons.

“It was my lowest moment. My heart and body were in pain. I was helpless. The news broke my last hope and for a moment I questioned my purpose of existence," he said.

Ndungu and his wife Naomi Mugure lost their house, sheep, cows and a motorbike.

He however said that his biggest loss was their two sons.

“No parent would ever want to bury his children, no parent can imagine such a double tragedy. I am at pains to explain to my daughters what transpired. One of my daughters is grown up and I can tell she is devastated. As fate would have it she has also lost her playmates in the village. I don’t know who to console and who to leave,” he said.

“I have never gone through what I went through. A knife went through my heart and I am still bleeding. I don’t know if I will ever recover. The two boys were bright and I had big dreams and plans for them," he said

Ndungu's colleagues have sought temporary shelter for the family where they are also meeting to plan funeral arrangements for the two boys.

“I wish the government could help us shoulder this burden. It is too much for us to bear. I have not heard any official communication from the authorities nor a visit it is only friends and relatives who have shown me tremendous support,” he said.