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{
"id": 1102971,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1102971/?format=api",
"text_counter": 14,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Khaniri",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": {
"id": 171,
"legal_name": "George Munyasa Khaniri",
"slug": "george-khaniri"
},
"content": "This is an accident that claimed the lives of five family members; a Mr. Richard Osimbo, his wife, their children, his sister-in-law, their relative Nyambaka, their relative Vincent and their driver. Mr. Speaker, Sir, losing a family member is very painful, but losing five family members at the same time is excruciating to say the least. I was able to attend the burial of four of the victims in Ebwali Village, Luanda Sub-County in Vihiga County on Saturday, 4th September, 2021 and the sense of loss and pain was palpable. I condoled with the family and offered my contributions. It is unfortunate that a joyous activity of dowry process turned fatal. This family was travelling from Vihiga for some dowry negotiations, but they perished; they never got there. Mr. Speaker, Sir, this matter of Kaburengu Junction stretch on the Eldoret-Turbo- Kaburengu-Webuye Highway, and accidents is a matter of great concern. Since 2017, there have been four major accidents on this stretch of road. Of greater concern to me is that of the four accidents, two have claimed lives of residents of Vihiga, and in both cases, it was just family members. Apart from this one that happened on 21st August, 2021, another accident occurred at the same spot in December, 2017 and claimed 14 lives of my people. Furthermore, on 24th December, 2020, a truck with faulty brakes hit a Matatu, which in turn rammed into roadside traders at the same spot, killing eight people. On the other hand, a power transformer on this spot of the road has been hit seven times since 2018. A search of the word Kaburengu on the internet automatically connects with accident. Just try and search the word “Kaburengu” now on the internet and you will see “accidents”. Honestly, from the above recent happenings, there is need for urgent action to protect lives. This stretch of road is not just a black spot, but a death trap to road users. Certain issues demand proper interrogation, for instance, the road design, road signage, speed bumps, road reserve, bus stops and existence of a KPLC transformer very close to the road. During the burial of the family members, I made a promise to the community that I would raise this matter here and that the Senate, being the House that cares about the lives of the people in this country, we will investigate and see what the Government can do to rectify the spot, so that we can save lives. There are matters that can be corrected easily by the Government through the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA), Kenya Power and the County Government. Mr. Speaker, Sir, in conclusion, I believe a Committee of this House should conduct a proper interrogation of this stretch of road and recommend corrective measures. As much as we are celebrating big infrastructure programmes in the country, there is need to look into the safety of pedestrians and all types of vehicles."
}