It is nearly four days since the tragic accident in Mwingi where a bus full of people headed for a wedding plunged into a flooded River Enziu killing 32.
They were headed for a wedding at Nuu Catholic Church where David Mutua and his wife of five decades Veronica Syombua were set to tie the knot.
Reports have since revealed that 9 of the deceased passengers were relatives of the couple.
File image of David Mutua. |Courtesy| Nation|
Speaking to Nation on Monday, December 6, 2021, at their Nuu village home, the couple stated that they are still experiencing the shock and pain of losing 9 family members at once.
The 9 included their two daughters Rachael and Jane, and seven grandchildren.
Mutua narrated how the wedding service was interrupted with bad news. He said that though the priest officiating the wedding did not tell them directly at first, he sensed something was wrong.
“We sensed something was amiss, but we were not told until the ceremony was over,” he said.
The 75-year-old recounted that the priest kept conversing with his best man and after the ceremony, he had already left.
"The priest hurried the wedding and by the time it was over my best man had already left the church for the accident scene. At that time it had emerged that my relatives and some of the choir members had drowned," Mutua said.
"We forced our way to the riverbank despite concerted efforts by authorities and some of our relatives to keep us away from the accident scene. It was chaotic. On seeing the bodies displayed on the river bank, most of which were of my children and grandchildren, I felt that my life was meaningless and decided to toss myself into the raging waters. I was restrained," he added.
Mutua noted that he did not whatsoever regret holding the wedding.
"I do not regret planning and eventually holding the white wedding. It is something I decided to do because it meant a lot in my journey in faith," he said.
From left: Rachael Manoti, Patricia Savu, Kenneth Okinda and Mary Kioko. |Courtesy| Nation|
He and his wife Syombua first got married on June 6, 1966, in a traditional wedding and they went on to have seven children, five girls and two boys.
"For all those years we didn't have a white wedding," Syombua said.
For Mutua and his family, the wedding on Saturday was an important milestone in their journey of faith as Christians.
"I was among the first persons to be baptised at Nuu Catholic Mission many years ago. But Satan distracted me along the way. When I got sick the doctors said that I had taken a lot of snuff and advised that I should change my lifestyle," he said.
"That is why I vowed to get back to Christianity in a big way. I enrolled for Catechism immediately. One of my daughters interested me in the White wedding which is a requirement in the Catholic faith and started planning for it," he added.
Unfortunately, Jane Mutua is among the two daughters who perished on the day her parents solemnised their marriage vows.
"We were in constant communication with the bridal party and members of the choir who were stranded at the river bank following the swelling of River Enziu. We advised them to wait until the raging waters of the river subsided before they crossed," Mutua said.
Syombua identified eight of her relatives who died in the accident after forcing her way to the river bank.
From left: Maria Masaa, Judy Ben, Christine Kaka and Alice Ndanu. |Courtesy| Nation|
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