Kenyans offer help to woman whose matatu was burnt
Matatu Owners Association Chairman Simon Kimtai (left), Ms Agnes Macharia and her lawyer Wiffred Lusi outside Milimani Law Court on June 20, 2016. Ms Macharia had sued Cord after her matatu was allegedly burnt by the coalition's protesters. PHOTO | PAUL WAWERU | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- In a rare show of unity, residents of Kayole, where Ms Agnes Macharia lives, took it upon themselves to help one of their own and raised the remaining Sh1.4 million.
The single mother whose matatu was burnt during Coalition for Reforms and Democracy protests will receive a brand new matatu after well-wishers raised Sh3.4 million required to purchase another vehicle.
On Saturday, the chassis of the vehicle was delivered from General Motors and taken straight to a garage in Kayole where it was assembled with a body whose works had been ongoing.
After the accident in Nairobi on June 6, listeners of Kameme FM, a vernacular radio station, raised Sh2 million in a day but the money was not enough. And in a rare show of unity, residents of Kayole, where Ms Agnes Macharia lives, took it upon themselves to help one of their own and raised the remaining Sh1.4 million.
Matatu Owners Association CEO Kanoru Wambugu, who coordinated the campaign, told the Sunday Nation that residents of Kayole wanted to show disapproval for destruction of property and businesses.
“It is the Kenyans who are burning their country and will have themselves to blame because that matatu was somebody’s livelihood, not Cord’s or Jubilee’s,” he said.
“People were donating up to as low as Sh5 at bus stops, restaurants, bars and even on the streets regardless of tribe,” he said.
An elated Ms Macharia said she cannot wait for next week so that her life can go back to normal. Her insurance company refused to compensate her and she still owes a bank Sh2 million for the razed matatu, which was barely eight months old.
“It could be me today, tomorrow it will be you. I hope a similar fate doesn’t befall hardworking Kenyans in the name of politics,” said the mother of two.
On Tuesday, Cord principals lost a bid to stop a case in which she has sued them for compensation. Raila Odinga, Moses Wetangula and Kalonzo Musyoka had argued that the incident, which took place outside Moi Airbase, was criminal in nature and thus cannot be heard by a constitutional court.
