Edgar Riches was struck by a vehicle as President William Ruto’s motorcade made its way to a public engagement in Kenya’s capital of Nairobi and a driver was arrested
A selfless Brit “dedicated to working for other people” has died amid a trip to carry out charity work in Kenya.
Edgar Riches was struck by a vehicle in the President’s motorcade, it is said. The 79-year-old man, from Poole, Dorset, had raised money to sponsor building “an orphanage or school” in Africa and visited Kenya to support charities there.
But he died on Thursday after the crash, following which the driver of the government vehicle was arrested and later released on bail. The collision happened as President William Ruto’s motorcade made its way to a public engagement in the capital, Nairobi.
Paying tribute to Edgar, Ann Stribley, president of the Poole Conservative Association (PCA), praised his modesty. The retired councillor in Poole said Mr Riches was a “very private individual” who “never wanted any public acknowledgment of anything, he just did what he thought was right, for no personal reward or acclaim whatsoever”.
A few weeks ago Mr Riches won “the annual big prize of something over £500” in a PCA lotto-style draw, Ms Stribley said. During his trip he was to pass the funds on to a building development he was sponsoring in Kenya, she added.
When she last spoke to him at a PCA meeting two or three weeks ago he was “really looking forward to his trip out there and getting things moving again”.
Ms Stribley had known Mr Riches for about 50 years through the PCA, and said: “He was quite a remarkable chap, not many about like him these days, but quiet and unassuming and just got on with life.”
He was an active Conservative for more than five decades and “very dedicated to working for other people and the community, and things that he thought should be done, which is why he was in Africa actually”, Ms Stribley said.
She added: “I heard he was knocked over by a motorcade going by, I can’t imagine how – he certainly wasn’t the sort of chap who would walk out into the street or jaywalk”.
Mr Riches was treasurer and later a trustee of the PCA, she said. The parish priest at St Joseph’s church in Poole, where Mr Riches worshipped and was a reader, said he was “quite a private man, but he was very involved in the parish” and had been for about 30 years.
He also said Mr Riches supported a school in Africa and was heavily involved in charity work, particularly for the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (Cafod).
He was set to do his annual sponsored walk to fundraise for them, the cleric said. He added: “I spoke to him just before he left for Africa just a week or so ago. He was very faithful to Sunday mass… generally he was always there, always helping, always doing things. It’s a huge shock for all of us. Can’t take it in to be honest. The fact he’s not coming back is just very strange”.
Cafod said Mr Riches “fundraised relentlessly” for them, organising “hundreds of charity events year after year”. Simon Giarchi, from Cafod Plymouth and South West, said: “We were incredibly sad to hear of the death of Edgar Riches, an inspirational gentleman who fundraised relentlessly for Cafod over decades. He was tireless in organising hundreds of charity events year after year (including one just days before his trip to Nairobi).
In the post on the aid agency’s X account, he added: “Edgar was a kind and remarkable person who will be sorely missed. His efforts, via his Poole parish, to help tackle injustice and inequality around the world, will continue to make a difference to many communities living in poverty”.
A British High Commission spokesperson said it was “liaising with the authorities” after the incident. The accident caused an outrage on social media as Kenyans questioned why the President’s motorcade drivers were driving at high speed on a busy major road.
Videos shared on social media showed the victim lying on the tarmac with heavy bleeding to his head. The vehicle that hit him did not stop after the accident. The presidential motorcade, often made up of dozens of vehicles, is driven at high speed for security reasons, according to the police.
