The county government of Kakamega will relocate traders selling their wares on the roadside at the Kaburengu black spot.
The relocation will be implemented starting Tuesday.
This is meant to avoid the loss of more lives through road accidents at the black spot along the Eldoret-Webuye highway.
Kakamega Deputy Governor Ayub Savula on Sunday said traders who sell their wares on the roadside will be relocated to nearby land that is owned by the Kenya National Highways Authority.
“We have agreed with KeNHA to lease the triangle next to the black spot as we wait for the authority to redesign the road section between Turbo and Mabanga in Bungoma county,” he said.
Savula’s remarks followed the death of five students of Ebenezer Academy in Busia County at the black spot on Saturday evening.
The five—four girls and one boy died after a driver of a Mercedes Benz truck lost control and hit the school bus on the right at Kaburengu.
The driver of the bus also died in the accident while three others, a student and two teachers sustained serious injuries.
Some 16 people have lost lives at the black spot in the last three weeks. The stretch of the highway between Turbo and Webuye has claimed 88 lives since January.
On June 4, four people died after a trailer ferrying goods to Uganda lost control and crushed a motorbike rider.
On June 3, a trailer hit and killed four people who were returning to their home in Malava after attending a relative’s funeral in Bungoma.
Savula appealed to President William Ruto to intervene and push KeNHA to redesign the road section between Turbo and Mabanga into a dual carriage with four lanes to reduce accidents.
“We are appealing to the president to personally intervene and ensure the authority redesigns the road because it will finish our people,” he said.
Savula said that the county in collaboration with the national government will establish an emergency centre at Matete market to shorten emergency response during accidents at Kaburengu.
