Saturday, January 30, 2010

Brutality on Kenyan Roads


In the early morning hours of January 17, 2010, Martin's car stalled on Uhuru Highway. In the minutes that it took to call his friends (who were a few cars back) to help him out, he was brutally attacked by a gang of thugs and left for dead. He was rushed to Nairobi Hospital but all efforts to save him were unsuccessful. He died less than 24 hours after that brutal attack. A young life, snuffed out in the blink of an eye. He had proposed to his girlfriend just a few weeks prior and was getting ready to walk down the aisle in May. Read the story here by Sunday Nation.

Today is a bittersweet day. I will be attending a march (@2pm from Baricho Rd to Uhuru Highway)organized by Moses Kahia for his late cousin, friend and colleague, Martin Gitehi Njuma. In commemorating the deceased, this walk is first and foremost to bring attention to the lack of security on Kenyan roads. Hopefully, this march will demonstrate to the authorities that it is their job to protect us. It should also demonstrate to fellow Kenyans that it our fundamental right to speak up and demand a safe city. The march should also bring awareness and caution to those unaware of the danger zones (people like me who didn't know about all the danger zones reported in the Sunday Nation story).

From what I've read/heard, the place that the attack occurred (Makaburini near Bunyala Rd roundabout) is a known DANGER spot. My question to the authorities is: HOW CAN YOU SAY THIS IS A KNOWN DANGER SPOT AND NOT DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT? In my head, the solution is really simple...how about you station some policemen there (and all other danger zones) as part of their beat? This is the problem with how the authorities work in a country like Kenya - unless there is a prominent figure of state living in close proximity, the police will not care to station/monitor that area. Citizens are all left at the mercy of these gangs and the police are still twiddling their thumbs wondering where their next "CHAI" (read: bribe) will come from. And the worst thing is that these punks who are attacking people senseless, are stealing petty items like wallets and mobile phones! How do you justify killing someone to steal those items?

What irks me is that the authorities claim that this was an isolated incident as reported in the Sunday Nation. A lot of people have blogged that the area is dangerous and this has been a known fact for years because there have been numerous cases reported. So, dear authorities, IF this was such an isolated case, WHY in heaven's name did you NOT record this in your INCIDENT book? And to add insult to injury, the Central police station boss Richard Muguai made a comment that "The young man put himself in danger by driving at that time of the night." WHAT? Are you kidding me? So there are alloted times of the night to drive? Why? Oh, is it that there is possibly CRIME happening at that time? CRIME that your police force should be handling? Give me an effing break - these clowns are smoking some ISH and they need to stop. How can the Central Police Boss be so callous with his remarks? What if this were his son or daughter? Would his remarks be as callous then? Let's not forget that Martin was a pilot so if the authorities remarks are correct, all those who work those 'anti-social' hours (pilots, nurses, doctors, construction, etc) should ditch their jobs because they shouldn't be driving at that time of the night. What planet is this so called boss from? It's no wonder that tourism has also dropped in Kenya...if Kenyans themselves think that the roads are UNSAFE, how are we going to entice foreigners to come here? Hell, If truth be told, most of us just wanna get the first ship out of dodge.