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Tragedies of 2018

Tragedies that hit Kenya in 2018

Mourners at a funeral

Solai Patel Dam Tragedy

On the night of 9th May 2018, the lives of Solai residents were completely changed after the killer Patel dam broke its banks. 48 Kenyans lost their lives that night in what was described as a conspiracy and not an act of nature.

In a 1,800-page document with 27 recommendations, the Senate Ad-hoc Committee called for the owners of the dam and State agents to be held culpable for the deaths, suffering and emotional torture the people of Solai had to endure.

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Gikomba Fire Tragedy

The magnitude of the suffering this year also got to traders at the Gikomba market who lost lives and their property worth millions. At least 15 people are feared dead and more than 60 injured after a night fire.

Some of the victims burned while others choked after inhaling poisonous fumes as they battled to save and salvage their property.

Londiani-Muhoroni Bus Accident

Kenyans had to deal with numerous road crashes that claimed lives and injured many. At least 50 people lost their lives in a deadly crash along the Londiani-Muhoroni Highway.

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At 4am, October 10th, travellers in the bus, belonging to Western Cross Sacco, crashed in an area locals call Tunnel on the Londiani-Muhuroni road.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres mourned the death of 56 people and condoled with the affected families after the tragic bus crash at Fort Ternan, in Kericho.

Lake Victoria Tragedy

In 2018, Lake Victoria became the blessing that swallowed its own children. Tanzanian owned MV Nyerere overturned at the lake and killed 200 of the 300 people who were onboard.

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According to a story by CNN, Lake Victoria snuffs 5,000 lives a year, leaving various East African families in tatters. This was corroborated by a 2015 Ugandan research finding dubbed “Integrated extreme weather event monitoring, forecasting and warning system.” It also revealed that at least 5,000 people, mostly fishermen perish in the lake yearly.

Kenya donated Sh5.5 million to Tanzania for the victims of the ferry disaster that claimed over 200 lives.

Eight Rhinos Whose Death Was Mysterious

Eight endangered black rhinos died after they were moved to a reserve to Tsavo East Rhino Sanctuary.

The eight were part of a herd of 11 moved due to overcrowding in the Nairobi and Nakuru parks, which was hindering breeding.

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What was more bizarre was how the rhinos, under 24-hour surveillance by armed rangers, could all have died at once. Some people accused KWS of a cover-up whenever endangered animals died in the parks.

The situation got murky when Tourism and Wildlife CS Najib Balala was asked to resign and ended up telling his critics to go to hell.

The ghosts of the dead Rhinos came back to bite KWS managers who were sacked and the board dismantled for the blame game that ensued.

School Bus That Killed 11 Students

This was one of the worst tragedies the country had to bear. No parent deserves to bury their child, but on in of August, parents of the 11 pupils had to grapple with this tragedy.

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The pupils from St Gabriel’s Boarding Primary School were returning home from a five-day study tour in Mombasa when their school bus collided with a truck near Mwingi town at around 11pm.

Parents who were waiting for their children barely two kilometres away trooped to the accident scene, where they were met with loud and horrific wails of the children who were at the bottom of a river.

Schools were cautioned against putting the lives of young people at risk through night travel. Learning institutions are prohibited from travelling between 10pm and 5pm.

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