The cab driver has shared a chilling account of the last moments he spent with TikToker Cecilia Achieng, just before she tragically died on Thika Superhighway.
Cecilia, known as Cess on TikTok, was hit by a car in Ruiru. She was 23 years old and had recently graduated from Mount Kenya University.
The driver, Patrick Muthami, said he got a request to pick up a client around midnight in Ruiru, Kiambu County. The request came from a man named Ronald, who told him to wait for two women. But to only take Cecilia Achieng to Juja, where she lived.
“I arrived and waited outside the house,” Muthami recalled. “A few minutes later, two women came out; Cecilia Achieng and her friend Sally. They were clearly drunk.”
Because of this, Muthami asked for payment upfront. The women kept entering the wrong M-Pesa PIN, which blocked their account. He called Ronald, who sent the fare directly.
Once payment was sorted, Cecilia got into the back seat, and the trip began.
Less than a kilometer in, Cecilia became restless.
“She asked where I was taking her and wanted to get out,” the driver said. “I told her I was just taking her home, as her friends requested.”
Her behavior soon turned aggressive. She grabbed his shirt by the neck and demanded to leave immediately.
“I held her hand to find a safe place to stop since we were on the highway,” Muthami explained.
When he stopped, he called Ronald again. He said he couldn’t continue the trip alone and needed someone to accompany Cecilia. Ronald told him to let her go, saying she was an adult and would find her way.
“I had no choice but to let her leave,” Muthami said.
“She got out and started walking on the pedestrian path, heading back to where I picked her up.”
About an hour later, Muthami learned the terrible news that Cecilia had been hit by a car and died.
Her family in Kisumu mourns a young woman they describe as kind, cheerful, and full of dreams.
Still shaken, Muthami urged young people, especially women, to be careful at night and avoid excessive drinking.
“It’s very dangerous out there,” he said. “I wish things had turned out differently.”
By Vivian K.