She spent the day checking in with her family, laughing and chatting as though everything was perfectly normal.
No one imagined those conversations would become their final memories of her.
Fresh details have emerged about the heartbreaking last moments of 40-year-old Betty Rotich, an Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) officer who was among the seven people killed in the horrific road accident at Kamara in Mau Summit along the Nakuru–Eldoret highway on Friday night.
Betty had been travelling back to her home in Eldoret after attending an Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission retreat in Naivasha. Throughout the journey, she remained in constant communication with her family, giving them every reason to believe she was safely on her way home.
According to her relative, Caleb Rotich from Kaptagat in Uasin Gishu County, Betty spoke to her sister several times during the day. Their conversations continued until about 8 p.m., when her phone suddenly went silent.
At first, the family assumed she had travelled through an area with poor network coverage.
But as the hours passed and every call went unanswered, anxiety began to grow.
The following morning, desperate to know whether she had arrived safely, the family dialled her number again.
This time, a stranger answered.
The news that followed shattered their world.
The caller informed them that Betty had been involved in a serious road accident and urged them to rush to Londiani Sub-County Hospital immediately.
“It was only after we couldn’t reach her that my sister told me Betty had travelled to Naivasha for work,” Caleb recalled, describing the painful moments before the family learned the truth.
When they arrived at the hospital mortuary, their worst fears were confirmed.
Betty was gone.
Her family identified her body and learned that she had suffered severe head and leg injuries in the crash.
Now, as they struggle to come to terms with the devastating loss, the family is seeking to have her body transferred to Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret to allow relatives easier access as they prepare to give her a dignified farewell.
The tragedy unfolded on Friday night at Kamara in Mau Summit when a truck travelling towards Nakuru reportedly lost control, veered off its lane, and crashed head-on into a Toyota Hiace matatu belonging to Eldoret Crossroads. The matatu was carrying 11 passengers who were travelling to Eldoret.
According to Kuresoi North Sub-County Police Commander John Kimutai, the impact was devastating. Five people, including the matatu driver, died instantly at the scene, while two more later succumbed to their injuries in hospital.
Three other passengers sustained serious injuries and remain admitted to Londiani Sub-County Hospital, while the truck driver survived with minor injuries.
At the Londiani Sub-County Hospital mortuary, scenes of grief unfolded as families gathered to identify the bodies of their loved ones. Tears flowed freely as relatives recalled the final phone calls, text messages and promises to return home—conversations that, tragically, became their last.
For Betty Rotich’s family, what began as an ordinary journey home after an official assignment ended in unimaginable heartbreak. The phone calls that once brought comfort are now cherished memories of a beloved daughter, sister and relative whose life was cut short far too soon.
May all those who lost their lives in the Mau Summit tragedy rest in peace, and may their families find strength during this painful time.
