Residents of Ha Gatarama along the Nairobi-Nakuru highway in Lari, Kiambu county, have appealed to clerics to cleanse the area of fatal accidents.
They say many lives have been lost on the route to daytime and nighttime accidents.
On Tuesday, area Nyumba Kumi chairman Joseph Kinyi asked the Ministry of Roads to erect a 'black spot' road sign in the area.
"Only prayers can cleanse this region. We have lost so many people here. We do not take this for granted,” Kinyi said.
His remarks followed the death of a boda boda rider who was hit by a Kakamega-bound matatu. The driver of the matatu, Victor Biwott, said the rider joined the highway from Exxen petrol station and they collided head-on.
“I saw the speeding motorcyclist join the highway without checking. I tried hooting, swerved to the other side and applied brakes but it was too late as the rider was speeding and he was hit. My passengers screamed and we stopped,” Biwott said.
Kinyi said on July 19, Lari constituency community policing chairman Peter Kiugu died in the area after his car hit a lorry that had stalled in the middle of the road as it rained.
“It was at night when a lorry broke down in the area and when Kiugu came, his efforts to brake were futile as his car skidded as the lorry’s oil was spilling and it was drizzling. He died when he was being taken to hospital,” he said.
Last year, a rider and his passenger died on the spot when they were hit by a lorry.
"We shall participate in a cleansing exercise to be led by local pastors, whom we urge to act very fast,” Kinyi said.
Deputy subcounty police commander Charles Opondo said they had launched investigations. He urged all road users to be careful to avert accidents.
The wreckage of the motorcycle and the matatu were towed to Lari police station. The rider’s body was taken to Uplands Funeral Home where an autopsy will be conducted.
