Reckless? Family Finally Speaks on Driver in Kariandusi Crash Horror

Questions have been raised about the tragic Kariandusi road crash on Sunday that killed 16 members of the same family. 

Many wondered if the driver of the matatu, Elijah Mburu, was reckless. But his family has strongly defended him, saying he was not reckless at all.

Instead, they describe him as a loving father, responsible breadwinner, and devoted family man.

Elijah Mburu, 34, was driving the matatu when it collided head-on with a trailer on the Nairobi–Nakuru highway. 

He and all the passengers, who were close relatives, died while heading to Lanet in Nakuru County to visit a sick aunt, Pauline Muthoni.

Mburu’s mother, Susan Wanjiru, described her son as a God-fearing man who loved life. She said he was disciplined, never drank alcohol, and never used drugs.

"The family had every reason to feel safe in his hands," she said. She added that she had planned to go on the trip herself, but at the last minute Elijah was chosen to represent her and drive the vehicle.

The family had hired his matatu for the journey, with each adult contributing Sh2,000.

Among those who died were Mburu’s grandparents, his mother’s twin sisters, other aunts, distant relatives, and four children.

Mburu leaves behind a widow and four young children, aged between nine years and one-and-a-half years. He was a trained carpenter who left school in Form Three and later became a driver.

He worked as a conductor, then a school bus driver, and finally a matatu operator. By the time of the crash, he had six years of experience and a reputation as an accident-free driver.

Family spokesman Charles Maina described the tragedy as cruel irony, noting that Mburu, named after his grandfather, had become the one fate chose to carry the family into death.

He dismissed speculation that the crash was deliberate.

“Elijah was not malicious or reckless. If he were here today, you would see what a kind soul he had,” he said.

Another uncle, Zachariah Mwangi, said the crash was unimaginable. He recalled that hours before the journey, Mburu had joked that his matatu was “like a jumbo jet in both speed and power.”

Mwangi emphasized that Mburu had maintained an accident-free record on several routes, including Nairobi–Nyeri and Nairobi–Dandora.