Dead dogs a precursor to human death on Southern Bypass at Kibra

The Southern Bypass at Kibera, where several pedestrians have been knocked down [PHOTO: Jeckonia Otieno, Standard]

 

In Summary

• Measures have been put in place to keep pedestrians safe, but many have thrown caution to the wind and paid dearly with their lives
• Most of the crashes occur mainly in the morning and evening, when people are going to and coming from work
• Kenya National Bureau of Statistics indicates that road traffic crashes are the tenth leading causes of death in Nairobi County

NAIROBI, KENYA: The Southern Bypass at Kibera overpass has left a sour taste in the mouths of the local residents.

A few days ago a child who was crossing the road with his mother was killed by a vehicle just a few metres from the underpass.

This is not the first death on this section of the road that connects Mombasa Road to the Nairobi-Nakuru highway at Kikuyu. The designers of the road had a noble idea to keep pedestrians safe, but area residents have thrown caution to the wind and a number have paid dearly with their lives.

At Raila village, there is a road that connects Lang’ata and Kibra, passing right under the bypass. This is designated safe crossing point, but some pedestrians rarely see the need to use it.

Carolyne Achieng, lives near the bypass and says that she never uses the road because it is far from her house.

Short cuts

“If I want to go and get something just across the road, why do I need to go all the way round then come back?” she asks.

She says she is careful and urges others to be vigilant. In fact, Achieng says those who are knocked down are mainly drunkards whose sense of judgement is impaired by alcohol. There is at least one death on the road every week.

Knocked down

But not all victims are drunkards. In one accident at the spot was that of a middle-aged man who was hit and dismembered.

Peter Wafula, a local resident, says most of the crashes occur mainly in the morning and evening, when people are going to and coming from work.

He argues: “People fear being late for work, so what they do is take the shortcut across the dual carriage in order to save time.”

Achieng adds a weird twist. She claims the local people believe that when a dog is knocked, then a human is likely to follow.

Shocking statistics

“In each of the instances that we have witnessed here, when a dog is hit and killed, then a week does not pass without someone getting killed,” says Achieng.

The latest figures from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics indicate that road traffic crashes are the tenth leading causes of death in Nairobi County and that one in every 25 deaths occurs from road accidents.

Dr Duncan Kibogong, the deputy director of safety at the National Transport and Safety Authority, says there are plans to forestall further loss of lives in the area.

Public education

He says different approaches are planned and include public education and sensitisation on the use of pedestrian crossings and building of walls.

“When you travel along that road you will see that a wall has been built on the Kibera side to stop people from crossing but some of them still jump over it,” Kibogong adds.

He says the authority is considering constructing a barrier in the middle of the dual carriageway to make pedestrians use only the authorised crossing point.