Noah Cheploen and Bernard Gitau @PeopleDailyKe
For many Kenyans, Salgaa—a small trading centre on Nakuru-Eldoret highway— evokes painful memories because of its long history with horrific road accidents. [ad id="186545"]The 14-kilometre stretch from Kibunja to Soilo has become the most dangerous black spot in the country with barely a week passing without a fatal accident being reported.
As Kenyans ushered the New Year, five teenagers lay dead at the notorious stretch after a saloon car they were traveling in collided head on with a bus heading to Nairobi from Bungoma (two others later succumbed to their injurues).
Less than 24 hours later, three other people perished after their stationary saloon car was hit by a bus. That brought the total number of people who have been killed on the 14-kilometre stretch to about 10 since we crossed over to the New Year.
So why Salgaa? Salgaa, which in Kalenjin dialect loosely translates to a coloured or painted home, is a paradox of sorts because it has a reputation for illicit sex and high prevalence of HIV/Aids. It is a joyful stopover for long distance truck drivers.
According to the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA), recklessness, speeding, free-wheeling and drunk driving are to blame for the rampant cases of accidents in the area. Meanwhile, truck drivers who use the Northern Corridor have petitioned the government to construct a lorry park at Salgaa trading centre to curb accidents in the area.
The drivers claimed that deep-rooted politics had forced the World Bank to pull out of an earlier plan to fund the construction of a lorry park as pledged during retired President Kibaki’s regime.
The call comes as the business community threatened to sue the County government of Nakuru for neglecting the area in service delivery despite residents paying their taxes.
Addressing journalists at salgaa trading centre, the truck drivers said many accidents that occur on the Kibunja-Salgaa stretch could be avoided if there was a lorry parking lot in the area.
At the same time, Salgaa Business Association Vice-chairman John Mbuthia threatened to sue, if the County government led by Governor Kinuthia Mbugua does not improve the infrastructure in the trading centre.
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