The death of 13 people due to a road accident at the Josa blackspot, along the Wundanyi-Mwatate Road in Taita Taveta county, has sparked an outcry.
Some county leaders are now calling on the government to investigate the cause of the rampant road carnages at that spot to avert further loss of lives.
While consoling the victims of the Saturday accident, Wundanyi MP Danson Mwashako called for the need to re-design the meandering section of the road that has been blamed for the multiple accidents.
“It is sad that we lost lives again at Josa. This section is a black spot where many people have lost their lives. I wish all the injured a quick recovery,” he said on Sunday.
The mourners aboard the bus were headed to Mombasa after attending a funeral in Mghambonyi.
According to police reports, the bus's brakes failed while descending the sloppy road, causing the vehicle to roll before landing in a ditch about 100 meters away from the road.
According to multiple witnesses, the driver was new in the area, therefore was not used to the terrain and was speeding at the time of the accident.
However, Wundanyi MP said he will engage the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) and the Transport CS Kipchumba Murkomen to consider redesigning that road section.
“I will be engaging KeNHA and the Transport CS this week to ensure something is done on this road to put to a stop the loss of lives,” the MP said.
His sentiments were echoed by Taita Taveta Governor Andrew Mwadime, who said a quick solution has to be sought.
Mwadime, who visited the victims at Moi County Referral Hospital in Voi on Sunday, said the road section at Josa was a threat to users.
"Together with other leaders, we shall engage experts, engineers and other agencies to see whether they will erect bumps or change the sharp corner," Mwadime said.
He urged drivers, who are not familiar with the route, to be more careful and desist from speeding.
Further, some residents have attributed the increased carnage to the existence of a shrine (Fighi) at the spot. They say a ritual should be undertaken to appease to Taita gods.
"It is evident what is wiping people at Josa is nothing else but the traditional Fighis (shrines) that our wazee placed there. That was a serious shrine that was dismantled without following the due process while excavating the Mwatate – Wundanyi Road," Saleka Njumwa posted on Facebook.
Darius Mwamba, an elder, urged the Taita Council of Elders to meet and consider performing the much-needed ritual.
"Wusi elders can help in identifying the shrine. Besides prayers, let us not forget that our ancestors worshipped the same God in a different way that we have abandoned it," he said.
The Josa area is one of the most dangerous black spots in the county due to its steep and hilly terrain. It has claimed many lives, prompting the push for a redesign.
In November last year, four people died on the spot after a bus belonging to Memon Secondary School rolled at the spot.
The school bus was also ferrying mourners who were returning from a funeral in Ngerenyi in Wundanyi to Mombasa. The mourners were teachers at the school and had attended the burial of a colleague.
In 2019, a bus belonging to Taita Taveta University rolled at the same spot killing one student.
In January 2018, one person was killed after another bus ferrying mourners from a burial in the Mghambonyi area rolled while on its way to Mombasa.
The expected tarmacking of the Bura- Mghange - Mtomwagodi road is likely to offer an alternative route to Wundanyi, devoid of the meanders.
-Edited by SKanyara
