- “I could not know that the occupants of the unmarked double cabin were weighbridge officials and police officers,” Mutinda said.
- “We suspected that the driver was escaping. It was unfortunate that we lost a life. We say sorry to the family,” Karimi said.
Image: GEORGE OWITI
The highways authority has admitted to spiking a lorry that ran over a seven-year-old girl on Nairobi–Mombasa highway in Athi River, Machakos.
KeNHA, however, said they were not to blame over the events that led to a chase between them and a truck driver resulting to Amani Makau’s death.
Amani, a PP2 pupil in Athi River, died on the spot after she was ran over by the lorry.
The accident at Lukenya on April 13 has raised questions on why the vehicle was spiked.
Kenha superintendent Charity Karimi on Tuesday said police officers attached to the authority’s Axel Load Enforcement and Highway Unit and Mlolongo weigh bridge officials were involved in the operations.
“The lorry lost control and ran over the girl after hitting the spikes. They stopped the vehicle by raising their hands but the truck driver defied the order. They went ahead and pursued the truck,” she said.
The officers said they suspected that the lorry was overloaded with bags of cement.
“We suspected that the driver was escaping. It was unfortunate that we lost a life. We say sorry to the family,” Karimi said.
The lorry driver Jones Mutinda, 37, said he mistook the officers who spiked his vehicle for thugs.
“I could not know that the occupants of the unmarked double cabin were weigh bridge officials and police officers,” he said.
Mutinda said the officers never at any point flagged him down but instead threw spikes on the road, which pricked the lorry’s front left tire.
The driver spoke at the scene of accident in Lukenya, Machakos on Monday.
“I had on the that day just joined the highway from National Cement Company popularly known as Simba Cement and when I got to Lukenya, I noticed a pickup overtaking me from the left (wrong side),” Mutinda said.
He said the two men who threw the spikes were in civilian attire.
Mutinda said he became unconscious immediately his lorry landed in a ditch only to find himself at Bishop Kioko Hospital in Machakos.
He recorded his statements at Athi River police station on Monday.
The lorry belonging to Ishara hardware is registration number KCY 204D while the salon car, which weigh bridge officials used, was KDG 075K.
The car that pursued Mutinda had been leased by Kenha and belongs to Ebenezer Commercial Works Company.
“The car had a civilian registration number, how could I know its occupants were police officers? They ought to have taken the truck’s registration number and alerted Kyumbi police station to erect a road block at Kyumbi shopping centre,” Mutinda said.
He said he couldn’t stop the vehicle immediately after he ran over the spikes since he was descending.
The superintendent said the officers were using a private car when the accident happened.
“We use contractors’ vehicles when in operations. That’s why the officers were using a civic car,” she said.
The matter is under investigations at Athi River police station where the truck’s lorry was towed to. The car in question was also impounded at the station.
Michael Ngana, assistant director Axle Control – KeNHA, said 1.4 kms is a long stretch. "A professional driver could have brought the vehicle into good stop, immediately it was spiked."
George Ngugi, operations manager at Ebenezer Commercial Works Company, said the vehicle used to chase the truck driver belongs to the company.
“The vehicle wasn’t involved in the accident. The occupants were police officers and our staff, they have all recorded statements at Athi River police station,” he said.
A postmortem was conducted on the baby’s body by pathologist Dr Micheka Micheka at Shalom Community Hospital mortuary, Athi River branch, on April 16. The report was kept confidential.
Samwel Mwendo, the lorry’s owner, said he was shocked by the officers who threw spikes at his vehicle.
“My driver got injured and a child killed. Why couldn’t the officers act professionally by alerting cops from Kyumbi police station to intercept the vehicle by erecting a road block?” he said.
Mwendo said the accident caused him losses since 220 bags of cement which were on transit to Wote, Makueni, were destroyed.
He was also forced to refund the money to the client, a loss of Sh143,000.
Mwendo also said the damaged vehicle was new and he was still servicing its loan.
Mwendo, lorry driver and Amani’s family are seeking justice.
Amani’s mother Virginia Kamanthe, 26, who cheated death during the incident said the girl was their only child.
(Edited by Bilha Makokha)