“I have realised God loves me,” said Jubilee Party secretary-general Raphael Tuju while speaking for the first time about the February 12th road accident that nearly ended his life.
In an interview with the Star at his residence in Nairobi’s Karen estate, Tuju said he suffered 12 broken ribs, three crushed vertebrae, a dislocated knee and head and neck injuries.
“I lost a lot of blood bleeding internally. This accident you only survive by the grace of God. There is no other way. I have realized God loves me,” he said.
The former Rarieda MP said he was recuperating well after his surgery in London.
“I am on the mend. At least every day I have made progress. I was in a wheelchair, then on two crutches, now I am able to manage with one crutch and this has progressively happened every day,” he said.
“The main challenge I have now is a lot of pain. It’s a lot of pain,” he said, adding: “That is something you don’t want to wish even on your worst enemy.”
Survived Plane Crash
Tuju noted that he sustained more injuries in the road crash at Magina area along the Nakuru-Nairobi highway than he did in a plane crash seventeen years ago. The then Labor Minister Mohammed Khalif and two pilots died in the accident after a 24 seater plane from Busia Airstrip to Kisumu hit a power line after take-off.
“I survived a plane crash before but this was more difficult. I had more injuries than in the plane crash,” he said.
Tuju added that he has little recollection of the road accident. He was in the back seat of his Toyota Prado reading news on his phone when the crash that involved two other cars occurred.
He said he remembers Sports CS Amina Mohammed helped rush him to Kijabe Hospital.
“I don’t remember anything after that. I only found myself in bed in the UK, that’s when I recognised exactly where I was,” he said.
“It’s been a tough war but the first thing I would like to do is to thank the President. Under those circumstances, he never abandoned me. He made sure that I got the best care possible,” Tuju said.
