By Joab Apollo
To residents of Gem, Siaya County, the month of July is always a period of expectation as every farmer looks up to a bountiful harvest. This year, the harvest was expected to offset school fees, thanks to the change in school calendar brought about by inconveniences of the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, something that will forever remain etched in their minds occurred. On Saturday evening, a fuel tanker accident woke them up from their homes, and as they rushed to the scene to make hay while the sun shines, the fire tragically consumed them, leaving 13 of them dead and scores seriously injured.
The horrifying accident, occurred at Malanga on the Kisumu Busia highway, arousing haunting memories of a similar tragedy in Sidindi, just a few kilometres away. The Sidindi accident resulted into the death of 33 people. The tanker collided with a speedy vehicle on the busy highway that connects Kenya and Uganda.
“I have never seen such a thing in my life. I have only heard about them on radio. I saw a boy struggle to remove his clothes while doused in the fire,” Richard Ochieng told this writer.
“What I saw will haunt me for a lifetime. I have never seen people cry while dying. Elderly people crying for help, but no one can help them,” he added.
Eunice Malele, blames both the county government of Siaya and the national government for inefficacy in disaster management.
“It’s embarrassing that a whole county government with an annual budget or allocation has no firefighting equipment. They had to borrow after scores had died. The national government is a sleep. We should not be witnessing such things in the 21st century. I am disappointed.”
Area MP, Elisha Odhiambo, said on Monday, that the national government has pledged to dish out Ksh. 50, 000 each to the bereaved, to help offset hospital bills and organize funerals.
The Kenyan government has been warning its citizens against siphoning off fuel from scenes of tanker accidents after heart-rending deaths in the past, notable being the Sachangwan fire accident along the Nakuru-Eldoret highway which claimed 130 lives in 2009.
However, the pleas have always fallen in deaf ears. Poverty, greed and poor road network have been blamed for this stubbornness.
About 3000 people die annually from road accidents, according to government statistics.
