As Kenyans across the country celebrate Christmas Day amid challenging economic times, calls for vigilance and caution on the roads have dominated the celebrations from leaders and religious leaders, amid a high number of road accidents.
In Kakamega County, residents and leaders celebrated Christmas Day in different ways, with some opting to spend their day in church, others at recreational centres like Muliro Gardens, and some choosing to interact with the less fortunate in society.
Kakamega Catholic Diocese Bishop Joseph Obanyi said the rate at which the cases of road accidents are happening across the country is worrying, while calling upon drivers to be careful and stop reckless driving.
"As we pray for those who lost their lives on the road due to accidents, we are calling upon our drivers to be responsible on our roads and stop driving carelessly on our roads to avoid deaths occasioned by road accidents. The rate at which accidents are happening is alarming, and it needs concerted efforts to stop it," said Obanyi.
John Musungu, Chairman, Kakamega County Boda Boda Association, urged members and road users to stick to the traffic rules to avoid more deaths during this festive season.
"As a boda boda leader, I would like to urge my people, drivers and road users to exercise full responsibility by obeying traffic rules so that we can avoid any form of recklessness," said Musungu.
Malava MP David Ndakwa, who donated foodstuffs to 500 widows, also stressed the importance of obeying traffic rules to bring order and sanity on the roads.
"We are living along Kakamega-Eldoret, it is a busy and narrow road, we have trucks transporting sugarcane to factories, I want to plead with our drivers and road users to be extremely careful so that we can celebrate Christmas and usher in the new year when we are alive," said Ndakwa.
He added, "Let our leaders and those privileged to have something to share with the needy in our community."
Kakamega’s Women Representative, Elsie Muhanda, who visited new mothers at Kakamega County General Hospital, called on police officers to intensify patrols and inspections on the roads and ensure road users obey the law.
"As we celebrate with the less fortunate in the community, we have seen many accidents happening on our roads. I want to urge our police officers to enforce laws and measures put in place to ensure safety on roads," Muhanda.
