April 2021 marked a devastating turn of events for the Muikia family in Limuru, Kenya, when two brothers, Isaac Ndirangu Muikia and Amos Kanyoi Muikia, lost their lives in a tragic accident on the James Gichuru - Kamandura Road.
The brothers' car hit a boulder on the road, which was under construction at the time, resulting in their untimely deaths. Relatives and friends have since blamed the accident on poor road signage, stating that the contractor should have put up proper warning signs to alert drivers of the danger ahead.
According to Mwangi Muikia, a relative of the brothers, the lack of signage was a contributing factor to the accident. “There was nothing… no signage showing there was a boulder on the road. Their deaths could have been prevented had there been something to warn them that there was danger ahead,” he said.
The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) has reported a significant increase in road accidents in recent years, with 3,975 deaths recorded in 2020 alone. Between 2019 and 2021, KNBS reported a 24 per cent increase in road accidents, with the number of reported traffic accidents rising by 24.2 per cent to 8,919 accidents in 2020.
As the government continues to grapple with the issue of road safety, families like the Muikias are left to pick up the pieces and demand action to prevent such tragedies from occurring in the future.
