Bodaboda riders protest rising accidents on Kitale Lodwar highway

Bodaboda riders in Migori County stage a protest over unfair taxation, bad roads. [File, Standard]

Bodaboda riders in Kapenguria, West Pokot County, are up in arms over increased accidents along the Kitale-Lodwar highway, which they blame on reckless and speeding truck drivers transporting clinker.

The riders, who operate along the Tartar Junction to Kamatira stretch, say the situation has become dire, with injuries and fatalities rising due to narrow roads and uncontrolled truck traffic.

They have now threatened to stage demonstrations and block the road unless urgent action is taken.

"The road is narrow, yet the trucks are speeding and overtaking dangerously. We have been pushed off the road as if we don't matter," lamented Augustine Tomunyo, the West Pokot County Bodaboda Association Chairperson.

"Two boys were seriously injured last week in Kapenguria after they fell into a ditch when two trucks were overtaking. We're making losses and risking lives every day."

Tomunyo has asked the government to introduce tolling on the road to raise funds for an alternate road for motorcycle riders and small vehicles.

Albanus Wambua, another bodaboda rider, recounted a recent incident where he narrowly escaped death while ferrying two women after "a speeding truck forced us off the road."

Deputy West Pokot County Chairperson Geoffrey Poghisio Liman echoed the riders' concerns and appealed for government intervention.

"The transportation of clinker has brought development and employment opportunities to our youth, but bodaboda riders are now suffering. The National and County Governments should step in and sensitize truck drivers on proper road etiquette," Liman said.

West Pokot Traffic Base Commandant Wycliffe Nyakwara confirmed that truck drivers had been sensitized on road safety recently, but acknowledged the challenge of repeat offenses.

"We held a meeting with the truck drivers and emphasized the need to observe traffic rules, especially against overspeeding. Unfortunately, many have returned to their old habits," Nyakwara said.