Fallen cameraman Macharia to be buried Friday

Anthony Ndungu Macharia who succumbed to injuries after being hit by a car in the line of duty during the sixth round of the Kenya Autocross Championships over the weekend will be interred on Friday.

At the same time, a Kenya Motor Sport Federation (KMSF) Board meeting on Tuesday will discuss whether the family of the deceased is entitled to compensation following the incident it termed an ‘accident’.

“The late Macharia will be buried in Kieni Village, Karatina. The funeral organising committee is meeting to plan his final send off,” Lee Kanyottu, who is the spokesman of the committee, said on Monday.

In a statement sent to newsrooms, federation boss Phineas Kimathi, condoled with the family as its preliminary report indicated the Nairobi’s Jamhuri Racetrack tragedy was purely an ‘accident and testament of the inherent dangers of motorsport.’

A commission has been set up to investigate the incident and will be expected to file a final report.

“I have learnt with profound shock the death of Tony Macharia and on behalf of the entire motorsport community, offer my most sincere condolences to the bereaved family at this time of this terrible ordeal,” former local rally ace Kimathi eulogised.

“Since it was an accident, a Federation Board meeting has been called to determine the eligibility of the deceased’s kin to compensation,” he added.

The former Former Multimedia University College student popularly known as  Tonie Vaticano was hit while trying to retrieve his camera and tripod from the path of the onrushing race car.

He was rushed to Karen Hospital by the event before dying at the Intensive Care Unit from his injuries later on Saturday afternoon.

“This unfortunate accident has happened a time when the KMSF has been involved in a series of seminars involving in-competition and road safety campaigns for motorsport officials, clubs and the media facilitated by a grant from the FIA.

“Several seminars for official and Marshalls have been held in Nairobi by the FIA’s accredited lecturers from South Africa. Others in the pipeline will involve motorsports journalists, course designers, medical personnel and administrative officials to articulate FIA Road Safety Action Plan,” the KMSF statement explained.

Tributes continued to pour for the motorsport photo journalist on social media as the fraternity was left reeling in shock following the incident.