KENYA. Kiambu: According to the latest report of the World Health Organization (WHO), 3,000 to 13,000 Kenyans lose their lives in road traffic accidents every year. Nearly one-third of the deaths are passengers.
What happens during and after the accident
Transcontinental Times spoke with Robert, a man who lost a family member to one of these accidents.
Robert lost his brother to one of these accidents. His brother suffered a car accident on Kinno highway. Unfortunately, the accident resulted in death. This personal tragedy inspired him to embark on a journey to find out what was behind these road accidents.
According to Robert, many of these accidents are not accidents, but the act of a gang of motorists who are solely driven by money. He said, “It’s pretty simple, they push an ongoing person on the highway. Definitely, causing an accident.” He accused these gangs not only of being heartless but of deliberately causing these accidents.
Robert narrated that once the accident occurs, they offer to take the victim to the hospital. At the same time, the members of the gang proceed to blackmail the driver responsible for the accident. They can negotiate 10,000 to 30,000 Kenya shillings, an amount that they tell the driver would cover the hospital expenses of the victim. However, the gang does something completely different. Robert said, “Once they get the money, they just dump the body. This is so inhumane.”
A quest for justice
Robert cried out, “Ask the Kenya Police how many bodies they have found in certain forests that are accidental victims. Not only that, but no traces of the victims are ever traced.”
Angry, Robert tracked down the motorists responsible for his brother’s death. He used social media platforms on various instances to contact witnesses of the tragedy. Once he collected evidence, he proceeded to take it to the local police station. However, the police were reluctant to arrest the suspect.
“I had to go to the police headquarters to insist on the arrest. It took a while, but, eventually, the suspect got his sentence in prison,” Robert said. “I am planning to start up an initiative comprising of any accident victim family. I have learned that when we are all together, it’s easy to get justice. Brightly, we can even learn how to cope up with such tragedies. That is how I take revenge on my brother’s murderers. By helping out anyone who has experienced this kind of tragedy,” he explained.
After getting justice for his brother’s death, Robert decided to create a Facebook page with the purpose of offering support to people who may have been victims of similar accidents. Fortunately, his page has gained the attention of many people.
Robert hopes his efforts to get justice and his support for other victims will be less difficult and more effective when it comes to arresting these criminals. He confidently concluded, “We are going to get there. One day when we will be able to catch every single person who has done this.”
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