This archive report was first published on 15 July 2020.
A truck driver, Ahmed Shariff, has finally received compensation nine years after being amputated in a road accident at Salgaa, Nakuru on November 1, 2011.
Shariff's legs were amputated after suffering serious injuries in the accident, which was caused by a private company's vehicle overtaking carelessly and causing a head-on collision with the truck driver.
The High Court made the ruling in early July 2020, upholding a verdict delivered by a Magistrates Court on May 25, 2017, which had faulted the private company for causing the accident.
High Court judge Justice Teresia Matheka reduced the compensation amount from Ksh4.8 million to Ksh4,320,000, ruling that Shariff was 10% liable for the accident.
"I find no reason to interfere with the awards on general damages. However, in the circumstances of the evidence, it cannot be said that the defendant was wholly to blame for the accident," Matheka stated.
Statistics by the National Transport and Safety Authority indicate that as of April 13, the number of passengers who have lost their lives on the road has gone down compared to the same period in 2019.
