An elderly man who was ejected from the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) passenger train has been found alive. Mr. Peterson Mwangi Ngunyi was reportedly found in Nairobi’s Buruburu estate, Phase 1 barefoot, cold and sickly.
The family said Saturday that Mr. Mwangi was found without shoes and a coat.
The elderly man, who the family revealed is mentally ill, boarded the 8am Madaraka Express on March 11bheading to the coast from the Nairobi terminus in Syokimau only to be kicked out at Athi River station on grounds that he had an invalid ticket.
The SGR yesterday released a statement detailing the events leading to Mr. Mwangi’s ejection from the train.
According to the family, the SGR said that Mr. Mwangi was kicked out after he presented a minor’s ticket during a routine check-up. However, according to the details on the M-pesa message received after payment, the ticket belonged to an adult who was booked on Second class, Coach 5, Seat 61, Train N2.
Mwangi however ended up on train 6, raising alarm during the routine check. The family further said they expected the SGR staff to be more humane and consider what would happen to such an elderly person after being kicked out of the train.
According to Kenya Railway, any passenger found with an invalid ticket in the train is required to either pay for the ticket, payable at the destination or alight at the nearest railway station.
To assist Mwangi, the train crew requested him to reach out to a family member to pay for his journey but he neither had a phone nor any contact through which he could get assistance,” the statement read.
Mwangi, Kenya Railways said, opted to alight at Athi River.
Kenya Railways has also insisted that they learnt of Mwangi’s condition much later.
“We wish to clarify that KR officers treated the passenger with the utmost respect and followed the necessary procedures put in place when such incidences occur. In addition, we wish to notify our esteemed customers that we don’t take this matter lightly.”
The matter has brought to the fore SGR’s handling of clients. This is not the first time such an incident has taken place. The SGR has in the past been dodged with claims of passenger deaths as the staff were ill-equipped to handle various medical issues.
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