Businessman Philip Waithaka Kinuthia’s Minor Son Allegedly Drove Drunk, Killed Two Peponi Students in Ngong Road Horror Crash as Claims of Cover-Up Intensify

In the early hours of April 25, 2026, an Isuzu D-Max double-cab pickup registration KCQ 222X, owned by Dawamu Academy Limited, a company controlled by businessman Philip Waithaka Kinuthia and his wife Claudia Wanjiru Waithaka, rolled several times along Ngong Road near Lenana in Nairobi.

Two young Ugandan women, both A-Level students at Peponi International School, were thrown from the vehicle and died at the scene. Others suffered life-threatening injuries.

What followed, according to witness accounts, official communications and court filings, was not merely an investigation into a fatal road crash but an alleged effort to shield the vehicle owner’s minor son from accountability.

The evening had begun as a celebration. Peponi School’s A-Level Class of 2026 had gathered with parents and staff at Muthaiga Country Club for their leavers’ dinner. At about 3:50 a.m., Karen Police Station received reports of a serious accident.

When officers arrived, five students were found in or around the wreckage. Two Ugandan students, Yzeera Ssebunya, daughter of African Wildlife Foundation CEO Kaddu Ssebunya and Doreen Ssebunya, and Danielle “Didi” Mirembe Kembabazi Kavuma, were pronounced dead at the scene. Another foreign student suffered devastating injuries and remains in a coma.

Wreckage of the pickup involved in the fatal accident.

Kinuthia Waithaka, a fellow student, a minor and allegedly the driver, escaped with minor injuries. One other student also survived with relatively minor injuries. Two additional students had reportedly been dropped off before the crash.

Multiple accounts identify Kinuthia Waithaka as the person behind the wheel.

A surviving student is said to have given two separate statements on April 25, one at 6:30 a.m. and another at 4:30 p.m., identifying him as the driver and alleging he had been drinking and speeding. One of the students who left the vehicle earlier has also reportedly identified him as the driver, while another is expected to provide testimony.

In a communication dated May 18, Peponi School headmaster Mark Durston reportedly stated that the businessman’s son had been driving when seven pupils left Muthaiga Country Club in the private vehicle.

Within days, however, a different account emerged.

On April 27, Philip Waithaka Kinuthia reportedly appeared at Karen Police Station accompanied by his 34-year-old nephew.

Both recorded statements claiming the nephew had been driving.

The nephew allegedly told investigators that he lost control while attempting to avoid a motorcycle travelling on the wrong side of the road in rainy conditions.

That account was contradicted by a police officer who attended the scene and reportedly stated that the road was dry and that the vehicle appeared to have been travelling at very high speed.

The family of the student who remains in a coma, through Murgor & Murgor Advocates and lawyer George Ouma, has laid out allegations of a cover-up in court filings and in a formal letter addressed to DCI Director Mohammed Amin.

Copies of the correspondence were sent to DPP Renson Ingonga, Attorney General Dorcas Oduor, the Kibera Chief Magistrate’s Court and Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi.

The family argues that the actions taken after the crash point to a deliberate effort to conceal facts that could result in criminal liability for both the vehicle owner and his son.

They have also criticised Peponi School for initially denying investigators access to student witnesses unless police obtained a court order and parental consent. By the time court approval was secured on June 5, examinations had concluded and students had dispersed.

Central to the family’s concerns is the claim that no alcohol test was administered to the alleged driver despite repeated witness allegations of intoxication. They further contend that basic accident-scene procedures were not followed.

According to the court filings, the businessman’s son was removed from the scene by family members after contacting them, even as critically injured students remained at the crash site. Police initially moved to charge the 34-year-old nephew with causing death by dangerous driving, a development that the victims’ families view as part of the alleged effort to divert responsibility.

In his statement, Kinuthia Waithaka reportedly claimed he had been asleep and only regained consciousness in hospital, insisting that his cousin had been driving.

However, the family points to a text message allegedly sent by him to a friend’s mother shortly after the crash.

“Good evening Aunty. I am so sorry from the bottom of my heart for putting you and your family in this position. … (Name withheld) is one of the strongest people I know and I know he will fight and pull through.”

The family argues that the message amounts to an acknowledgment of responsibility.

Ownership records also place the vehicle squarely within the Waithaka family’s control.

NTSA records indicate that KCQ 222X was imported in 2018 and registered to Dawamu Academy Limited.

Company records list Philip Waithaka Kinuthia as a director and majority shareholder, holding six shares, while Claudia Wanjiru Waithaka holds three shares and also serves as a director.

Reporting from Uganda, citing sources close to the victims, has further alleged that a designated driver arranged by parents had been available but was dismissed before the students departed.

The same reports claim adults present at the venue expressed concern about the condition of some of the departing students and warned against them driving.

Perhaps most striking has been the limited public scrutiny of the case within Kenya.

While Ugandan media carried extensive coverage of the tragedy and the questions surrounding it, reporting in Kenya remained sparse for weeks until the Daily Nation published a June 14 report detailing the allegations of a cover-up.

The contrast has fuelled concerns among relatives and observers who question why a crash involving multiple international students, two fatalities and allegations of interference attracted so little sustained attention.

The Kibera Chief Magistrate’s Court is expected to issue further directions on June 26 in proceedings initially filed by police to obtain access to student witnesses.

The family of the comatose student has since argued that the application has been overtaken by events and is now calling for a fully independent DCI investigation.

Their letter raises concerns about the handling of the case and warns of potential diplomatic ramifications given the nationality of several victims.

At its heart, this case is no longer solely about a fatal road accident.

It concerns allegations that a minor drove while intoxicated and at high speed, claims that he was removed from the scene by family members, conflicting accounts about who was driving, delayed access to key witnesses, the apparent absence of critical forensic testing and persistent questions about whether influential individuals attempted to shape the course of the investigation.

The families of Yzeera Ssebunya and Danielle Mirembe Kembabazi Kavuma, together with the family of the student who remains in a coma, continue to demand answers.

They argue that the evidence already before investigators, including witness statements, school communications, police observations, company records and the disputed text message, raises serious questions that cannot be ignored.

Kenya’s justice system possesses the legal tools necessary to establish the truth. The question confronting investigators is whether those tools will be applied without fear or favour.

For grieving families in Uganda and Kenya, the demand is straightforward: a thorough, transparent and independent investigation capable of determining exactly what happened on Ngong Road and whether anyone sought to obstruct the search for justice.

Anything less risks deepening public suspicion that influence and privilege remain capable of shielding the powerful from accountability while victims and their families are left searching for answers.