As Kenyatta University (KU) officially enters the three-day mourning period, survivors of the horrific Voi accident say the accident could have been avoided.
The deputy vice chancellor for academics announced suspension of all classes in the institution to allow time for mourning students who perished in the tragic road accident in Voi.
Mourning period lasts from today (Wednesday, March 20) to Friday, March 22 as burial plans for the 11 departed souls progress.
Tonny Mugambi, one of the survivors who was rushed to Moi County Referral Hospital in Voi, Taita Taveta County, narrated scary moments before the crash occurred.
“Those of who sat at the back suffered the biggest impact. I remember people shouting trying to warn the driver of an oncoming truck then the next thing I heard was a loud bang then I was just flying outside,” he recalled.
His colleague in Public Health course John Otuoma, shared a similar experience. He was also among those were alert when the accident occurred.
“The driver attempted to overtake but there was an oncoming vehicle ahead so he tried to return to the lane. Unfortunately there was a trailer coming behind us at full speed and it hit our bus on the left side,” the student narrated.
These students maintain that their trip to Mombasa for an academic experience would have bee a safe one, had the driver been more careful on the road.
Meanwhile, the university established a help desk centre where students and families can enquire on the state of their loved ones who survived the tragedy.
In a memo dated March 19, 2024, the deputy VC noted that the three days break will give ample time for the students and the entire KU fraternity to mourn the students who died in the accident on Monday evening.
““It is with profound sorrow and sadness that I inform the University community of the tragic road accident involving our students from the Department of Health Management and Informatics in the School of Health Sciences yesterday 18th March 2024 in which we lost eleven (11) students,” read part of the memo.
Plans are also underway to transfer bodies of the 11 who perished to Kenyatta University Funeral Home along Thika Super Highway.
Taita Taveta governor Andrew Mwadime declared that the medical bill for all Kenyatta University accident survivors will be waived by the county government.
