Kitui mounts joint war
against road accidents
By Barrack Muli
Kitui Governor Charity Ngilu and the county's security team have launched a joint campaign to tame road carnage in the county. The campaign aims at sensitizing road users on the need to shun careless driving on roads and stop untimely loss of lives.
Addressing the gathering that drew representatives from the National Roads and Safety Authority, Kenya National Highways Authority, County Commissioner, County Commander, matatu drivers and bodaboda operators, Ngilu said that Kenya had lost nearly 2000 lives since January this year and encouraged motorists to be patient, extra vigilant and courteous to other road users.
She attributed most road accidents in the country to reckless behavior and urged that road users follow traffic regulations to avoid accidents.
“A high number of crashes result from over speeding, lane indiscipline, overloading, drunk driving and dangerous overtaking” she said.
Ngilu added that road safety was a shared responsibility and urged all the involved parties to work together to deal with the challenge.
The county chief further called upon all residents to register for the Kitui County Health Insurance Cover {K-CHIC} to have their medical costs covered in all public hospitals within the county.
The County Executive Committee Member for Lands, Infrastructure, Housing and Urban Development Eng. Jacob Kakundi said that the plan will see drivers train on careful use of roads as a measure to stop careless accidents in Kitui.
Kitui County Commissioner Samuel Kimiti said the national government had invested heavily in infrastructural development and called upon all to observe sobriety on roads.
“The death of so many people in the country in the recent days should be a wakeup call to all of us” he said.
County Commander Anthony Kamitu called upon members of the public to arrest rogue drivers, confiscate their cars, and report to the police for necessary action.
During the meeting, matatu SACCOs representatives committed to embrace road safety measures to end carnage onwards.
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