- Jamaican reggae icon Pato Banton narrowly escaped a life-threatening incident when his rental vehicle caught fire on a trip to Kitui County, Kenya
- The singer expressed frustration at the rental service for providing a faulty vehicle and refusing to take responsibility
- Tye ‘Go Pato’ hit maker was on his way to Kitui to check on his new project ‘Ubuntu’ when the catastrophe struck
Jamaican reggae icon Pato Banton found himself in a life-threatening situation while on his way to Kitui County in Kenya.
The revered singer, who has a strong following worldwide, was on a trip to visit a new project called Ubuntu Village when disaster struck.
What was meant to be a peaceful journey turned into a harrowing ordeal that almost claimed the lives of Banton, seven children, and four other adults accompanying him.
The trouble began long before the near-fatal incident. From the moment they picked up their rental vehicle in Nairobi, Banton and his group encountered problems.
The vehicle, which had appeared clean and well-maintained in photos, turned out to be a different story when the driver arrived.
The bus was dusty and dirty, prompting the driver to apologize, admitting that the owner was not handling business correctly.
Despite these early signs, they pressed on with their journey, unable to return the vehicle due to the distance they had already traveled.
Things took a dangerous turn when the brakes began screeching, with metal grinding on metal and brake dust choking the passengers inside the bus.
Concerned for their safety, the group made an emergency stop at a service station to have the brakes fixed. But the relief was short-lived.
Only three hours into their journey towards Kitui, a massive flame suddenly erupted from beneath the driver’s seat.
Panic ensued as Banton and the others scrambled to get everyone, including the children, out of the vehicle.
The fire was traced back to an old inverter installed beneath the driver’s seat, with shoddy wiring that had ignited and was still sparking even after the fire was put out.
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After disconnecting the wires and removing the faulty inverter, the group attempted to continue their journey, but the bus broke down again, leaving them stranded on a dark and dangerous hillside road with speeding vehicles dangerously close by.
Fortunately, help came in the form of Sister Lilian Muthui from Compassion Teenage Mothers, who arranged for a bus to pick them up and bring them safely back to their hotel in Machakos.
Banton expressed deep frustration with the owner of the rental vehicle, who shockingly placed the responsibility on Banton and his team to arrange a pickup truck to return the malfunctioning bus.
Left with no choice, they abandoned the vehicle at a local police station and filed a report.
Though shaken, Banton took to social media to express gratitude that no one was hurt in the ordeal, closing his message with a heartening, “Giving Thanks! Ubuntu!”
