Nakuru parents didn't know daughter was in ill-fated chopper

Veronica Muthoni in a recent photo. PHOTO | COURTESY

What you need to know:

  • Ms Muthoni’s father, David Gachuki, said he last spoke to his daughter a day before the accident and she had indicated she would be attending President Kenyatta’s campaign rally in Narok the following day.

  • The first of three siblings was part of a youth group that had been campaigning for President Kenyatta’s re-election in the South Rift.

The woman in the ill-fated chopper that crashed into Lake Nakuru on Saturday was a graduate of the Rift Valley Institute of Science and Technology.

Veronica Muthoni, 22, had completed a certificate course in Catering in 2016 and was looking for a job before she met her death, according to her family. The details emerged yesterday as the rescue team comprising the Kenya Navy, the police, Kenya Wildlife  Service, forest rangers and divers continued the search for bodies of the five occupants of the chopper.

When the Nation visited Ms Muthoni’s home, family and  friends were still coming to terms with the loss.

Her devastated mother, Jane Gachuki, sat at a corner in her house in Kabatini village, Bahati constituency. She was surrounded by relatives as she mourned her daughter.

Ms Muthoni’s father, David Gachuki, said he last spoke to his daughter a day before the accident and she had indicated she would be attending President Kenyatta’s campaign rally in Narok the following day.

The first of three siblings was part of a youth group that had been campaigning for President Kenyatta’s re-election in the South Rift.

TRAVEL BY AIR

“We did not know she was in the chopper until her friend told us she was to travel to the Narok rally by air,” said the distraught father, adding that the family had continuously made phone calls but could not reach her.

As news filtered in that two bodies had been found yesterday afternoon, friends and family trickled into the home, worry and despair on their faces. 

Bahati MP Kimani Ngunjiri visited the home to condole with the family.

The lawmaker described Ms Muthoni as a jovial, amiable and kind-hearted person who had a bright future.