How everyday ride to school ended in tragedy for teacher

It was an ordinary day for Mrs Joyce Momanyi. The much-loved and hardworking teacher woke up early as usual, prepared breakfast for her husband and set off to school.

Her husband, Pastor Richard Momanyi, like any other day, bid his wife goodbye and continued with his activities. That was to be the last goodbye he was to say to his wife of 30 years.

Mrs Momanyi taught at Nyaigwa Secondary School in Nyamira County, some 3km from their home. Once on the Nyamira-Kisii Highway, she flagged down a motorcycle, commonly known as a boda boda and boarded it for a 15-minute ride to school.

Outside Cooperative Bank-Nyamira branch, a boda boda joining the tarmac road from a feeder road hit theirs and threw her under a moving truck. In a split second, her life was cut short. An otherwise calm morning ride ended cruelly.

Witnesses said the truck driver tried to instantly stop the vehicle, but it was too late.

The truck broke the rider’s legs and he is still in hospital.

In those few moments, five children were left without a mother, a pastor was widowed, the Nyamira SDA Conference lost a staunch member, the Teachers Service Commission lost an employee and students lost their Swahili teacher. Mrs Momanyi became a statistic of senseless deaths occurring on the roads.

“No! No! No!” Pastor Momanyi wailed as he wept uncontrollably, tears rolling down his cheeks when he arrived at the scene and found that his wife was no more.

It was an unexpected event that hit Nyamira that morning.

Even Governor John Nyagarama, a close friend to the family, could not hide his emotions.

Mrs Momanyi has since been buried, joining thousands others who have lost their lives through road accidents since January.

At the Nyamira County Referral Hospital, the medical superintendent, Dr Cyrus Ayunga, said the region has witnessed an increase in the number of boda boda casualties this year.

TWENTY-FIVE CASUALTIES

In April, he noted, they had 25 casualties which then increased to 30 in May.

“The numbers then increased to 40 in June then 70 in July,” Dr Ayunga added.

Transport Principal Secretary Irungu Nyakera recently said boda bodas contributed to 18 per cent of the fatalities.

“The upsurge of such accidents is eroding the gains made by the NTSA and other agencies in making Kenyan roads safer,” he said in a June 27 article in the Business Daily.

A daily accident surveillance report posted on the National Transport and Safety Authority website dated August 3, indicated that 1,802 deaths have occurred on Kenyan roads since January. This is an increase of 4.2 per cent over the same period last year.

The report further shows that 125 passengers and 316 motor cyclists have died this year.

The Ministry of Transport has come up with stringent measures aimed at taming this madness causing pain, havoc and misery in many families.

Among them is a requirement for motorcycle dealers to provide two reflector jackets and helmets for every unit sold. The items must be worn at all times by the rider and his pillion.

“The NTSA will revoke the dealership licences of non-compliant vendors,” Mr Nyakera said.

Riders will also be required to carry one pillion at a time. This will be a departure from the current situation where a boda boda carries up to six school children.

Honda Kenya managing director Hirohide Ichikawa concurs that safety on the roads is key if the boda boda industry is to thrive in the country.

“We also remind clients that the gear must be utilized by the rider and his passenger at all times,” Mr Ichikawa said. The Transport Ministry is also emphasizing on proper training of all riders to ensure that they abide by traffic rules.

Motorists and other road users agree that most boda boda riders flout basic traffic rules like overtaking and joining one road from another. Even the church has added its voice to the outcry.

‘ENSURE SAFETY’

“It is imperative for all road users to observe traffic rules and ensure safety for us all,” Fr Lawrence Mandere of Nyabururu Catholic Parish says.

While popular amongst Kenyans in the rural areas due to their convenience and relative affordability, boda boda operators often display unbecoming behaviour.

Indiscipline among the riders has turned them into some form of militia.

In Syokimau, riders were accused of invading a police station and torching it following the brutal murder of their colleague alongside a lawyer and his client.

The situation in Nyamira is no better. Once an accident occurs, riders often take the law into their hands and attack drivers and at times torch or vandalize their vehicles when accidents occur.

According to Nyamira Traffic Base Commander Margaret Musau, it is illegal for a rider involved in an accident to flee or mobilize colleagues to attack a motorist.

Ms Musau says that those involved in an accident must not tamper with the machines involved as this will compromise investigations regarding who was right or wrong when it occurred.

“The law will not be unfair to you just because you did not have a licence,” Ms Musau said.

Nyamira County Commissioner Joseph Rotich recently held a meeting with representatives from the sector where a number of resolutions were made.

“Stern legal action will be taken against any rider who engages in criminal activities,” Mr Rotich said.

Mr Rotich said “Traffic police officers must apprehend and prosecute riders who carry more than one passenger, ride while drunk, do not use safety gear and carry long or wide loads,” he said.

Some riders often use the motorcycles to transport building metals, carrying coffins, nappier grass as well or iron sheets, thus endangering their lives and those of other road users.