Police have raised concerns over high death rates along the railway track in Nairobi.
Kenya Railway Police Station deputy in-charge Philip Omar said a month never goes without a reported case of casualty on the line.
Omar said four people were run over by commuter train in Nairobi between March and May.
“Some people just lie or sit on the railway line and refuse to move while the train is approaching, they stay put however much the train hoots. Such cases look like suicide,” Omar said.
The officer spoke to the Star in his office on June 22.
He said the four killed by the train along the railway track were aged between 25 and 30, all of whom were males.
Omar disclosed that the fatalities were rampant in Kikuyu-Dagoretti, Kahawa West-Soweto, Kibera-Dagoretti and Dandora-Makadara sections.
He said there were many such related cases that go unreported.
Of the four deaths, Omar said three had been identified by their relatives and interred at the Lang’ata Cemetery while the other is still at City Mortuary.
“We suspect some members of the public get to the railway track while either drunk or undergoing depression. It is, however, not easy to tell a suicide case until postmortem is conducted to the bodies. Postmortem always detect whether the incidences are accidents or otherwise,” Omar said.
Omar said incidences of bodies being picked along the track and idle land belonging to KRS had gone down.
“There are no more bodies being picked from the railway line as it was earlier. The reported deaths are those who have been run over by the locomotive.”
Residents had earlier decried increased cases of bodies along the railway and around the Nairobi railway station.
They linked the killings to rogue security guards belonging to a private security firm that had been contracted by the corporation.
Omar said the firm had been replaced by Flashcom Security Services apparently guarding the property.
He cautioned members of the public against taking selfies at the railway stations without consent from its management, terming it a security risk.
“According to Kenya Railways guidelines, seek consent before taking photos for security reasons,” Omar said.
Edited by R.Wamochie
