Eldoret-Webuye highway a death trap for pupils

Chimoi Primary School pupils walk along the Eldoret-Webuye highway as a truck drives by. The highway has become a death trap for pupils, teachers and parents. PHOTO | GERALD BWISA | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • From the school’s playground, one can clearly see trucks and other vehicles going down or up the slope on the Eldoret-Webuye highway.
  • In March 2014, four pupils were among six people who died right outside the school in a grisly road crash.
  • Chimoi Primary School headteacher Mr Makokha Munialo has been a victim of a road crash at the black spot.
  • Western Traffic Enforcement Officer Evans Gitembe admitted that more interventions are needed to reduce road crashes at Chimoi.

The panoramic view of green vegetation on farms surrounding homesteads as seen from the Chimoi Primary School playground in Lwandeti Location, Kakamega County, hides the meandering highway that has been a cause of pain and misery to locals.

From the school’s playground, one can clearly see trucks and other vehicles going down or up the slope on the Eldoret-Webuye highway.

The trucks drive uphill at snail speed but the speed at which most of those moving downhill are driven makes one hold their breath, thinking of a disaster waiting to happen.

The Chimoi area, along the busy highway, has been listed as one of accident black spots in the country. The black spot is right outside the school’s gate.

In March 2014, four pupils were among six people who died right outside the school in a grisly road crash.

The brakes of a truck failed and it hit a tractor, which in turn crushed four pupils who were on their way home for lunch.

Also killed were a cyclist and a motorist.

PARENTS, TEACHERS ALSO VICTIMS

Pupils at the school are not the only vulnerable group, as parents and teachers have also been victims.

Chimoi Primary School headteacher Mr Makokha Munialo was one such victim in a road crash at the black spot.

He recalled that on November 1, 2012, he was walking on the roadside when he heard a loud bang and was hit from behind before he could even turn.

“I was on my way to Webuye. After I fell, I realised I was bleeding from my head and mouth.

I was rushed to hospital and discovered later that my upper jaw was broken and I had a deep cut on my forehead,” he said, pointing at scars on his face.

Mr Munialo was hospitalised for a month.

A chairman of the school’s management board was also killed on the road after an oil tanker exploded in 2003, said Mr Munialo.

Chimoi Primary School headteacher Makokha Munialo points at a spot where four pupils were killed in a road crash on March 5, 2014. PHOTO | GERALD BWISA | NATION MEDIA GROUP

SCHOOL CHAIRMAN ALSO KILLED

“Mr Christopher Masinde was talking to someone by the roadside when they were hit by (a) truck that (had) lost control. It overturned and exploded. They died in the fire that also killed two other people,” he said.

Mr Munialo said the four pupils killed in the March 5, 2014 crash were in Class Four and Five.

He said a month after the crash, two other pupils were injured when they were returning to school from lunch.

Pupils have to walk along the road or cross it when going to and coming from school, as most of them come from Kabrengu and Chimoi.

“There is no footbridge or bumps to ensure pupils cross safely and that drivers slow down when they drive near the school,” he said.

Mr Munialo said efforts to get local leaders to intervene have not been successful.

“We are told bumps cannot be erected here because it is on a highway and the section is also on a slope,” he said.

He said the school’s 790 pupils are not only exposed to the danger of being hit but also to the trauma of watching victims of crashes.

Because this area is an accident black spot, Mr Munialo said, the pupils on their way to and from school end up witnessing grisly road accidents involving motorists, pedestrians and boda boda riders.

PUPILS WITNESS LOOTING

They can also see crashes from the school playground as it faces the highway, he said.

“They also witness looting when trucks ferrying goods overturn and this affects their behaviour.

“How do you tell a pupil stealing is bad yet they witness it almost on a weekly basis as locals loot from overturned trucks?” he wondered.

The headteacher says he has been forced to map crash-prone sections on the road and educate the pupils on road-safety measures to observe when crossing the road.

He has identified nine danger spots and drew a map, which is pinned on his office wall.

“I wish something can be done soon for the safety of these kids. We don’t have to lose more lives for action to be taken,” he said.

He said that after the crash that claimed four lives, some parents transferred their children to other schools, where they don’t have to cross the highway.

INTERVENTIONS NEEDED

Western Traffic Enforcement Officer Evans Gitembe admitted that more interventions are needed to reduce road crashes at Chimoi.

“The number of accidents has reduced since we introduced speed guns but more should be done such as putting up bumps and improving road signage, just as it was done at Salgaa, which is also a black spot,” he said.

He said a pedestrian footbridge will also be constructed at Kabrengu, about 500 metres from the school.

He urged the school to also initiate safety measures such as having marshals help pupils cross the road in the morning and evening.

“Road safety should be taught in schools especially in institutions that are near busy roads and highways,” he said.

FOOTBRIDGE TO BE ERECTED

Lugari MP Ayub Savula said the school is in his constituency and he had been assured by the Ministry of Transport that a footbridge would be constructed on the road.

There is a Bill in Parliament that, if passed, will help ensure the safety of children around schools.

The Traffic Amendment Bill (2014) seeks to set speed limits at 30 kilometres per hour.

The Bill, which is sponsored by Laisamis MP Joseph Lekuton, also seeks to ensure speed bumps, rumble strips and traffic signs are put up near schools.

According to World Health Organisation (WHO), road traffic injuries are the leading cause of death among young people aged between 15-29.

WHO road safety program coordinator Dr Kunuz Abdella said children are more vulnerable because of their age, size and judgement when crossing roads.

"They are relatively small in size and some motorists may not see them as they cross the road and also they may not make good judgement as to assess distance of vehicles or when to cross the road," he told Nation.co.ke.

Mr Abdella called for interventions to ensure children are safe, especially when going to and from school.

He said the measures include having road marshals help pupils cross the road, have clearly marked signs near schools and speed regulators such as bumps near schools.

"It also helps if the pupils have reflective material such as school bags that makes them visible to motorists," he said.