By David Mutwiri, KNA
The Nithi Bridge remains a notorious black spot, continuing to haunt travellers along the Meru-Embu road ever since this section was commissioned in 1985.
Although accidents have been reported in many parts of the country in the recent past, the ghosts of the infamous bridge had, until last Sunday, April 7, 2024, remained dormant.
However, another tragedy struck along the ominous stretch.
Many lives, both young and old alike, have perished in accidents at the creepy bridge, while others have escaped, albeit with permanent scars and broken limbs, to tell their unfortunate experiences.
The abrupt, huge, cone-shaped road bumps encountered as vehicles approach the steep and lengthy stretch from the Meru side, along with conspicuous road signs reminding travellers of the deadly Nithi Bridge, instill fear in many.
These bumps jolt passengers awake and force those preoccupied with other matters to earnestly pray for safe passage across the ominous bridge.
For those travelling through the Meru-Chuka highway for the first time, inquiries about the infamous bridge’s proximity start as early as leaving Meru town, despite being over 40 kilometres away.
Harriet Ndanu, a journalist trainee who recently travelled along the highway for the first time, narrated how it was a chilling experience when the matatu tout shouted that they were nearing Nithi.
“By the mere mention of Nithi I shut my eyes as the driver of the matatu kept on accelerating on the winding series of contours that merge into a steep descent that crosses a river over the ‘infamous bridge,” said Ms, Ndanu.
But curiosity soon got the better of her, as it was her first time traveling from Chuka to Meru. She found herself opening her eyes, peering through the matatu’s window to catch a glimpse of the infamous black spot. However, as the vehicle crossed the bridge, fear overtook her curiosity, and she once again shut her eyes, turning to prayer for the intervention of her creator.
Deep in prayers, she was relieved when the tout whistled banging the vehicle, informing the driver to stop so that other passengers could alight at the bus stop at Marima on the opposite side of the valley, she recalls.
Kensilver bus
On April 7, 2024, four people died and several others were injured when the driver of a Kensilver bus lost control while descending the slope into the infamous spot between Chogoria and Chuka towns in Tharaka Nithi County.
Tharaka Nithi County Police Commander, Zachaeus Ng’eno, confirmed that four died in the accident and several others were rushed to Chuka County Referral Hospital and PCEA Chogoria Mission for treatment and the dead had been moved to the same hospital’s morgues.
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The police boss said, although the bridge is nicknamed a hot spot, the bus could have developed a mechanical problem making it hard for the driver to navigate the steep slope as one approaches the bridge.
Tharaka Nithi County Rescue Team leader Alex Mugambi said the bus had 39 passengers and was travelling from Maua to Nairobi.
He said villagers and commuters who arrived at the scene helped their team to quickly remove the passengers from the wreckage and arrange for the injured to be rushed to hospital.
Worst accident
The worst accident at the bridge since the commissioning of the road occurred on August 25, 2000. The black spot hit international media with headlines that at least 45 people were killed when a passenger bus plunged into the Nithi River in eastern Kenya’s Meru district.
Immediate reports were that up to 27 other passengers were rushed to Chogoria Mission Hospital, as the public joined police in a frantic search and rescue operation for the remaining passengers.
It was feared many more victims could have been trapped in the wreckage of the Tawfiq bus, which had a capacity of 65, but was carrying more than 80 passengers at the time of the accident.
The ill-fated bus was travelling from Maua in Meru along the Nkubu-Thuchi road, to Mombasa when it plunged off a bridge into the river.
‘The latest disaster brings to at least 158 the number of people who have perished at the bridge in the past five years,’ the international media quoted a Kenyan newspaper back then.
Many more accidents have occurred at the threatening bridge ever since.
In August 2020 a multiple accident killed one person on the spot and left nine others injured when the Tharaka Nithi County Fire Engine lost control, knocking several people who had come to rescue a bodaboda rider who had hit the side rails of the bridge.
In July 2022, a Modern Coast bus accident appeared to have been a repeat of the 2000 catastrophe. The misfortune occurred as the month of August 2022 was approaching and involved a coast destined bus.
It occurred on Sunday, July 24, 2022 at around 6.30 pm when the ill-fated bus hit a Nissan Xtrail and fell off the bridge into the river about 40 meters below.
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