This archive report was first published on 15 October 2019.
On October 15, 2019, Kirinyaga County Commissioner Jim Njoka and his Murang'a counterpart Mohammed Barre announced new sanctions aimed at bringing sanity in miraa transport.
The sanctions, which were directed at the National Transport Safety Authority (NTSA), included not allowing vehicles transporting miraa from Meru County to offload cargo if involved in road accidents within Kirinyaga and Murang'a counties.
Further, the vehicles will be expected to adhere to traffic rules, which have been identified as a major cause of fatal accidents in the area.
According to a joint statement by the two commissioners, in September alone, miraa-ferrying vehicles caused eight deaths in Kirinyaga County and six in Murang'a County.
The cause of these accidents was reckless driving, speeding, and overlapping, where some deaths involved pedestrians who were off the tarmac space.
Mr Njoka told Business Daily that after accidents, miraa traders use alternative transport, arguing that 'miraa is perishable and has strict market schedules.'
However, the two commissioners have vowed to subject the miraa transport sector to all legal interventions to make it safe for its stakeholders as well as the public.
Mr Barre stated, 'We will not be recruited into this self-defeating philosophy that miraa is more important than human safety.'
