Chinga Ward Representative in the County Assembly of Nyeri, Kiruga Thuku on Tuesday, April 21, successfully pulled strings to ensure the body of the late Eliud Kanyi got home after passing on at a hotel in Kampala, Uganda.
Kanyi, a truck driver had an accident in his hotel room while in Kampala and was rushed to Nakasero Hospital where he suffered a stroke from severely injuring his head.
Upon receiving the news, the wife travelled by bus to the Ugandan capital and found the husband unconscious in a hospital bed.
After three weeks in the hospital with the situation getting worse day by day, the worst happened and Kanyi succumbed to his injuries.
The Kanyi family was slapped with a hospital bill of Ksh. 2 million on top, the headache of moving the body to Kenya with the country placed on lockdown.
Thuku revealed how he got information about Kanyi's incident, "The family contacted me and I decided to post the story on Facebook to get the government's attention.
"A friend contacted me from London and gave me contacts in Uganda who then called the Kenyan embassy there which really assisted.
"Back here in Kenya, we started a fundraiser even my governor Mutahi Kahiga sent me with some money to the family so we were able to settle the hospital bill together with the gentleman's employer," said Thuku.
With Uganda at the time on lockdown, the Kenyan embassy agreed to transport the body of Kanyi from Kampala to the border.
Thuku arranged with a few family members to go and collect the body after obtaining a permit from the Central Regional Commander, Patrick Lumumba.
The body of Kanyi arrived in Othaya on Tuesday, April 21, with the burial set to take place tentatively on Friday, April 24.
Kenyan truck drivers have endured a rough month in Uganda after four tested positive of Covid-19 in the country.
