Ms Hellen Mueni, who lost both her hands in a road accident in 2001, is totally dependent on others. Although she was awarded Sh8,280,000 by the courts, she is yet to receive it. Photos/HEZRON NJOROGE
By John Ngirachu
Nairobi — Before the accident, Ms Hellen Mueni, 60, was a farmer and weaver.
Weaving baskets was a way not just of making a little more money, but also a pleasurable way of passing the time when she was not working in her garden in Matuu, Machakos.
On the evening of September 24, 2001, a speeding matatu on the Thika-Garissa road hit a hippopotamus and rolled.
Ms Mueni was in that matatu. She lost the limbs on which her life depended on — her two hands. She also broke her skull and lost teeth. The left side of her face was almost entirely smashed. Today, the eye is half-shut and she tilts her face when she wants to have a good look at someone.
Without hands, her life is as shattered as her body. She speaks of the last basket she was weaving before she lost her hands. She gave it to her sister to finish it for her.
Now she is not only living in shocking poverty, she is also totally dependent. She can’t feed herself or wear clothes without assistance. And of course she can’t weave to while away the endless monotony of empty days.
She must have someone by her side all the time to feed her, clean, dress and take her to the bathroom. She even needs someone to turn on the radio for her.
Her only hope of having something like a life of dignity was the Sh8,280,000 she considers her rightful compensation for her loss. After endless years in the courts, she is still to see a penny of it.
Her story shows the depth of horror into which road accidents are tossing Kenyans of all walks of life and how pitilessly slow the wheels of justice turn.
Her case for compensation was thrown out on October 28, 2005, by the High Court sitting in Embu. She had sued the driver of the matatu and its owner, who had passed the case on to their insurer.
“I was very confused when the person I had sent for the judgement said liability had not been proven against the two and the case had been dismissed,” said her lawyer, Mr Ochieng’ Omolo.
Later, as they sat in Mr Omolo’s office in Nairobi, she told her lawyer to file an appeal. Even as the judge in Nyeri was dismissing it, he had determined that were she to be paid for her loss, she would be entitled to Sh8,280,000.
“She was very hopeful about it all, which surprised me because she had gone through a lot and we were familiar with her needs and knew her circumstances,” said Mr Omolo.
Ms Mueni lives in a single room with her two daughters and their children. On the day the Nation visited, she was waiting for her son to come and feed her.
But she had the love and comfort of her two-and-half year-old granddaughter, who fusses over her as she takes the interview.
On December 14, 2007, appeal judges RSC Omolo, EM Githinji and JW Onyango Otieno set aside the Embu judgment and ruled Ms Mueni should be paid for her loss.
She had since separated from her husband and she thought that her troubles, and those of those on whom she depended, were over.
The judgement was to be taken to Embu and after the legal process on to Invesco Assurance Company, the firm which had insured the matatu.
In February 2008, just as Ms Mueni and her lawyers were planning to move against the owner of the matatu and his driver, a notice appeared in the papers. The Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA) had placed Invesco under statutory management.
The company had in the meantime secured a blanket injunction against all those with claims against it.
The blanket injunction was reinstated on January 20, this year, two days after the IRA announced Invesco had been issued with a trading licence, meaning it could begin to operate.
Ms Mueni unsuccessfully sought help from the IRA in the meantime and eventually almost gave up on the matter altogether.
“I know I’ll be paid. That has been my constant prayer and hope,” she told the Nation.
Spirits high
Her spirits might be high, but physically she is weakening.
She complained of pain in her left leg and increasing dizzy spells.
This morning , all those with genuine claims against the revived insurance company will start trooping to Tumaini House on Moi Avenue to collect and fill forms.
Amongst them will be a clerk from the office of Mr Omolo. When the filled form is returned at the end of 14 days, the slow wheels of justice will once more begin to turn for Ms Mueni.
Source: Daily Nation
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