This archive report was first published on 13 September 2019.
Published on September 13, 2019, a tragic incident unfolded in Nyandarua County when a family was forced to use a donkey-drawn cart to transport their loved one's body home for burial.
The family of Alice Njoki Njoroge had hired a hearse with a detached cart for the coffin, intending to give her a befitting send-off. However, the poor state of the roads in the county forced them to hire donkeys to complete the journey.
As they branched off from the Ol Kalou-Kipipiri road into a feeder road leading to their home, the hearse got stuck in the impassible road. The body had to be shifted to a donkey-drawn cart, leaving the family heartbroken.
Esther Mugure, the deceased mother, cried out in anguish, 'I am not happy that my daughter's body is being ferried home for burial on a donkey cart due to impassable roads. No one would wish this to happen to one of their relatives.'
Locals also expressed their frustration, citing the poor state of the feeder roads as a major concern. 'The poor state of the feeder roads in the area have also seen us as farmers incur losses as our produce goes to waste because we can't deliver them to the markets on time,' said James Mwangi, a local.
However, Nyandarua roads Executive Ndung'u Wangenye defended the county's efforts to repair the roads. He stated that a number of roads in the region had been graveled and repaired, with contractors still on site waiting for the rains to subside.
Wangenye also revealed that about Sh3 million had been set aside for gravelling of the roads across Shamata ward.
