Azimio leader Raila Odinga has described the loss of 26 people in the Kisumu-Kakamega highway crash as one of the darkest moments for Nyakach and the country.
Speaking during the funeral service of the victims in Koguta, Nyakach, on Saturday, Raila said it was heartbreaking to witness the burial of so many young people whose lives were cut short in a preventable tragedy.
“When an old person like me dies, people say it is okay because he has lived his life. But when young people die, it is like the flowers of the earth being destroyed, and that makes it very painful,” he said.
Raila faulted the design of the Kisumu roundabout at Mamboleo, where the accident occurred, claiming engineers made mistakes that must now be corrected.
“Accidents are not new, but they can be avoided. The Kisumu roundabout at Mamboleo, where this tragedy occurred, was poorly designed. Engineers made mistakes that must now be corrected,” he noted.
He recalled his own near-death experience 50 years ago, when the vehicle he was driving from Kisumu lost brakes on a steep hill.
He said he narrowly survived because the Mamboleo roundabout did not exist then. “I was the one driving, and when our vehicle’s brakes failed, I steered, and the next stop we made was at Kondele. I could have died, but we survived because that roundabout was not there,” he said.
The roundabout, which has been widely blamed for the crash, was demolished overnight, leaving only piles of soil at the site. Residents woke up to find it gone.
Raila welcomed the swift move. “I am happy to hear that action has already been taken to demolish that roundabout. This shows that the government has listened and acted quickly,” he said.
He stressed that the tragedy should be a wake-up call to rethink road safety designs across the country. “We must always ensure our roads are safe so that we do not continue losing lives in such tragedies,” he urged.
The accident claimed the lives of 26 Nyakach residents who were travelling in a bus ferrying mourners to a funeral when it collided with a trailer at the roundabout last week. Another 26 survivors are receiving treatment at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital.
