Pwani University Student Becomes TikTok Star For Recording Moments Before Death

Survivors of the Pwani University bus crash that occurred in Naivasha on March 30, 2023, have shared their harrowing experience. The bus, which was transporting students, was involved in a grisly accident after speeding for about 2km before coming to a tragic stop in the Kayole area.

Ian Okoth, one of the students who survived the crash, revealed that the bus’ brakes had failed, leaving them with no option but to brace themselves for the worst outcome. He recounted the events leading up to the accident, saying, “It was clear that the bus’ brakes had failed, and all they could do is fasten their seat belts as they watched the driver struggle to control the bus.”

Moments before the accident, students in the bus were seen praying and making peace with whatever lay ahead. Destiny Dina, one of the students on the bus, recorded herself inside the bus several times, capturing the mood before the crash. In the videos, her face showed excitement and hope, but towards the end, her facial expressions seemed to have made peace with destiny. Unfortunately, she did not survive.

Dorothy Chemos, a student in another bus heading in the same direction, recalled seeing the ill-fated bus overtake them at high speed before the accident. “In the confusion of the moment, our driver slowed down as we started reaching out to our colleagues on the other bus,” she said. “When we stopped, we only saw a group of people quickly gathered ahead of us, so we disembarked. That is when we saw the other bus that carried some of our colleagues lying in a ditch.”

The accident claimed the lives of 18 people, and four others succumbed while receiving treatment. Despite being new and serviced before the trip, the cause of the bus’ brake failure is yet to be established. Pwani University Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Rajab Mohamed, expressed surprise that the new bus was involved in the accident, despite having two seasoned drivers and having its speed governor calibrated in February. He described the incident as “a tragic accident and a very unfortunate incident.”

The video recorded by Destiny Dina went viral on social media, and her TikTok account, which had about 100 followers, grew to over 26,000 followers after the crash, by the time of posting this article.