A woman, Joyce Jepkosgei, has embarked on a 133-kilometre walk from Malaba to Eldoret to raise awareness on road safety along the busy Eldoret-Malaba highway.
Jepkosgei started the walk at the Malaba border and will pass through Bungoma before completing the journey in Eldoret, where she plans to visit survivors of the recent fuel tanker explosion.
The accident occurred near Paul Boit High School along the Eldoret-Malaba highway after a fuel tanker overturned and spilt fuel following a collision with a saloon car.
The spilt fuel reportedly ignited and exploded as members of the public were syphoning fuel from the tanker, killing and injuring several people.
Jepkosgei, the Secretary of the Kenya Heavy Commercial Vehicle Operators Society (KHCVOS), said she would also plant trees at selected points along the route in memory of those who lost their lives in the accident.
She urged members of the public to exercise caution when using roads and avoid rushing to accident scenes to take advantage of goods that may have spilt from vehicles, particularly fuel from overturned tankers.
Jepkosgei warned that fuel is highly flammable and can cause serious injuries and deaths when handled carelessly.
She urged residents to learn from previous incidents, including the Sachangwan tanker fire, and instead assist motorists and truck drivers who encounter problems along the highway.
“Let us be cautious when using our roads and also love truck drivers and appreciate the work they are doing. When they get stuck or experience challenges, let us help them instead of taking advantage of truck breakdowns to steal from or attack them,” she said.
The walk marks Jepkosgei’s second road-safety awareness campaign after she earlier completed a two-and-a-half-month, 922-kilometre journey from Malaba to Mombasa to advocate for the rights of truck drivers and promote road safety.
The President of KHCVOS, Sudi Mwatela, who flagged off Jepkosgei, called on the Government to expedite the dualling of the Northern Corridor highway up to the Malaba border.
Mwatela said the increasing number of vehicles using the route had created an urgent need for road expansion to improve safety and ease congestion.
by Moses Wekesa
