‘Numbers have to come down’ – Ruto warns CS Murkomen over rising accident cases

By Moses Muli

Published: April 18. 2024 2:46 PM(EAT}

President William Ruto has called on Cabinet Secretary for Roads and Transport Kipchumba Murkomen to make sure road accidents are significantly reduced.

The Head of State was speaking during the launch of the National Road Safety Action Plan at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) in Nairobi on Wednesday, April 17, 2024.

Ruto asserted that the road accident-causing factors are known, and acting on them is the surest way of reducing such cases.

“We all know the major causes of road accidents are reckless driving, over speeding, and drunk driving,” President Ruto said.

“The numbers have not been coming down; they have been going up. Every year, the numbers are going up. Waziri and your team, the numbers have to come down, and the template on how the numbers should come down is known, is practiced elsewhere, and impunity is keeping us from doing the right thing.”

Ruto also lauded the recent actions taken by Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja that are aimed at reducing alcohol intake in the city.

“Governor Sakaja said he has closed the pubs and places where alcohol is sold at the terminus. There cannot be greater impunity than licensing alcohol to be sold at termini when we know the people at the termini are drivers,” he added.

“I want to promise you, governor, as I have said before, that you will never get a call from me to tell you to do the popular thing. I will always call to tell you to do the right thing. It may not be popular, but as long as it is the right thing, do it.”

Murkomen’s take.

On his part, Murkomen acknowledged that there is a serious issue on the roads, as indicated by the rising number of deaths.

“The statistics are very grim. To be losing between 4,000 and 4,600 every year, the highest being in 2022, and if we had gone at that rate, we would have surpassed that number,” Murkomen said.

“To have about 20,000 critically injured people in our hospitals, and it does not hurt us to know that we do not feel the pain enough, and I am telling Kenyans that this is something that must worry us.”

Murkomen said the driver is at the Centre of the action plan aimed at reducing accidents.

“The big actors in these accidents are drivers because he is in control. We want to protect the driver. Most of these drivers cause these accidents because of fatigue. We must train our drivers well, and we must hold them accountable. If this area is sorted, we are going to triple the number of people to be employed if we eventually organize this sector,” Murkomen added.

The former Senate Majority Leader also blamed the matatu and vehicle owners for what they demanded from the drivers.

“The matatu owners and the businesspeople are the ones who are telling them that you do not have a salary, but if you can give tonight a return of one million, whatever is on top is yours. If you give a return of Ksh400,000, whatever is on top is yours,” he added.

“So, the driver runs helter-skelter around the city, around the country, trying to meet the targets of the matatu owner and have something on top of it. We want to organize the sector and have drivers work for eight hours instead of 16 or 18 hours.