Susan Wanjiru, 65, should have been in the matatu that left Murang’a on Sunday morning for a long-awaited family trip to Lanet, Nakuru County. At the last minute, she changed her mind.

That single decision saved her life — but left her devastated as she mourns the loss of almost her entire family of 16 people. The matatu they were travelling in collided head-on with a trailer at Kariandusi on the busy Nakuru–Nairobi highway.

Among the dead was her son, Elijah Mburu, the 28-year-old driver of the ill-fated vehicle. She also lost both her parents, Elijah Mburu Maina and Lydia Njeri, and four sisters — Catherine Njambi, Loice Wambui, Naomi Wangui, and Pauline Muthoni.

Out of a family of seven brothers and five sisters, Wanjiru is now the only surviving daughter.

“I don’t want to speak about this incident… I am alive through the love of my God. I am sad, I am devastated, but I leave all to God, who knows the meaning of all this,” she said, her voice breaking.

The journey she skipped had been weeks in the making.

For a month, her brother Patrick Mburu’s family had planned a reunion to visit their ailing aunt, 65-year-old Pauline Muthoni, in Lanet. It was to be a joyous get-together — their second in weeks after visiting another relative in Murang’a.

But the journey ended in tragedy before the 16 family members could reach Lanet. Their matatu collided head-on with a trailer at Kariandusi on the Nakuru–Nairobi highway on Sunday.

Mburu’s nephew, Elijah Mburu, was driving the matatu, which carried his parents, Elijah Mburu Maina and Lydia Njeri, and his sister, Catherine Njambi.

On the way from Murang’a, they picked up his uncle, Robison Karanja, before proceeding to Gacharage, where they collected two children Mburu identified as Grace Waithera and Eunice.

In Nairobi’s Kasarani area, Mburu’s three sisters — Loice Wambui, Naomi Wangui, and Pauline Muthoni — also boarded the vehicle. In Naivasha Sub-county, his cousin’s wife and her two children joined them, and together they left for Nakuru City. By around noon, the planned reunion had turned into heartbreak.

At about 6.30pm, Mburu received a call from one of his brothers asking him to rush to their sister’s house in Nakuru and pick up her children. Confused but obedient, he complied.

“I was in Nakuru town running errands when I boarded a matatu. The driver mentioned there had been an accident in Gilgil that claimed lives. I never imagined it involved my family. Later, my brother called. He didn’t say much, only instructed me to take the children to my house,” he recalled. Then came the crushing news: their parents, four sisters, cousins and nephews — 16 family members in all — were gone.

“At first, I couldn’t believe it. I only knew my nephew was an experienced driver. He had driven matatus for six years. I never imagined their journey would end this way. When I saw the bodies, the injuries… it was heartbreaking. We don’t even know where to begin. The cost of post-mortems and transporting the bodies home is overwhelming,” Mburu said in an interview, his voice heavy with grief.

When he arrived at Gilgil Hospital, Mburu was asked to identify the bodies, many of which were badly disfigured. “Seeing their bodies, having spoken to them just hours earlier, was devastating. They had been in high spirits. We were in constant communication during the journey, but at some point I got busy,” he said.

Another family member, Stephen Gicheru, a Naivasha resident who lost his wife and daughter, said he had spoken to his wife moments after she left Naivasha, as he was meant to send money for snacks for their two children.

He said he was in Tanzania for work when he saw news of the accident trending on social media. He tried calling his wife on WhatsApp, but the calls went unanswered. Thinking little of it, he left her a message.

Later, at around 10pm, he received a call from his cousin informing him that the family was travelling to Nakuru.

“I have lost a wife and a daughter. My son is in hospital receiving treatment. We had agreed that I would send the money two hours later, since I was almost at the border, but we never spoke again. I called to ask where they were, but their phones were not going through,” he recalled.

In Murang’a’s Kandara Constituency, more than 200 kilometres away, the wider family first learnt of the accident through the radio.

By Sunday night, the family’s three homesteads in Kahiga, Kangui and Gacharage had been transformed into mourning grounds.

“The family on that journey is widely known as that of Gicheru wa Gatari, with homesteads in Kahiga, Kangui and Gacharage villages,” Mr Maina said.

“I was seated under a tree in Kahiga village when the news bulletin came on. The announcer said 13 people had died in a head-on collision at Kariandusi on the Nakuru–Nairobi highway. A cold chill swept through me. My body went weak. I instinctively knew it was my family,” said Mr Charles Maina, 54, the family spokesman.

Mr Maina said the driver, Mburu, had arrived in Kandara village at around 9pm on Saturday and set off for the ill-fated journey after resting for barely three hours.

He recalled that his dread deepened when repeated phone calls to relatives in the matatu went unanswered.

“The silence was its own confirmation. We clung to hope, but by afternoon the devastating reality became clear,” he said.

By Monday, confirmation had come that all 16 family members in the vehicle were dead.

“We lost six from my own household alone — my father, my mother, my twin sisters, Catherine and Pauline. How do you even begin to process that?” asked Mr Maina’s younger brother, Zachariah Mwangi, 45.

At the Kangui homestead, 85-year-old Robinson Karanja died alongside his daughters and granddaughter. In Gacharage, 65-year-old Grace Waithera perished with her daughter, Judy Ruguru.

As neighbours streamed in, the air filled with wails, prayers, and despair. Some relatives collapsed in grief, while others had to be restrained from harming themselves.“It was like a church without order — some praying in tongues, some fainting, others crying uncontrollably,” recalled Mr Mwangi.

Beyond the anguish, the family now faces a crushing financial burden. “We are being told the bills have already reached Sh1.5 million — hospital, mortuary, emergency services,” said Mr Boniface Njaramba. “Post-mortems will add Sh300,000 more. Then burials for 16 people. How do we raise over Sh3.5 million?”

The family is pleading for help from the government, hospitals, and well-wishers to waive bills and support the burials.

Murang’a County Health Chief Officer Eliud Maina said the county would dispatch counsellors to assist the devastated family, noting the immense psychological toll. Governor Irungu Kang’ata is also expected to visit.