Families that lost relatives in the grisly Malaha road accident along the Webuye–Kitale road in Bungoma County have received KSh13.5 million to help offset funeral and medical expenses.
The funds were raised during a fundraiser held at Sipala Secondary School in Webuye East Constituency and presided over by National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula.
President William Ruto, through Wetang’ula, contributed KSh7.5 million towards the support fund, while the Speaker and a group of Members of Parliament raised an additional KSh. 2 million.
Speaking during the event on Sunday, Wetang’ula thanked the President for the support and announced that a joint interdenominational memorial service would be held on Monday in Webuye town for the 16 victims who perished in the tragic accident.
“We have planned an interdenominational service for the victims before providing vehicles to ferry the bodies to their respective homes for burial,” Wetang’ula said.
He noted that leaders and residents were still coming to terms with the tragedy, particularly after one family lost six members in the crash.
“Since independence, we have not witnessed such a tragic accident in this county where such a large number of people lost their lives instantly,” he said, adding that the community would continue standing with the affected families during the difficult period.
The Speaker also praised leaders from across the region for setting aside political differences to support the bereaved families.
“When the accident happened, I put aside my duties in the National Assembly and travelled here with MPs to condole with the families and offer our support,” he said.
Wetang’ula further disclosed that he had allocated time in the National Assembly for lawmakers to mourn the victims and deliberate on measures to curb the rising number of accidents involving trailers along the busy Eldoret–Malaba Highway.
He added that he had held discussions with the Roads Cabinet Secretary on urgent interventions to improve road safety.
“We agreed that the Roads CS should erect bumps along the highway, especially at accident-prone areas,” he said.
Bungoma Senator and Senate Chief Whip David Wakoli said more lives could have been saved if Webuye Sub-County Hospital had been better equipped to handle emergencies.
“Webuye hospital had no functioning ambulance to respond effectively after the tragic accident,” claimed the Bungoma senator.
However, Bungoma Governor Kenneth Lusaka dismissed the claims, saying the county government had invested resources in the facility because of its proximity to the busy highway, which often receives accident victims first.
“The ambulances in various hospitals are those I bought during my first term. People should not put all the blame on me and leave out the one who took over from me,” he said.
Lusaka added that the county government would cover hospital and mortuary bills for the accident victims.
Lugari MP Nabii Nabwera, speaking at the same event, said the newly operational National Infrastructure Fund would accelerate plans to expand the highway into a dual carriageway.
“The fund will be a game changer for the country as it will finance the construction of new roads, completion of stalled projects and support other infrastructure development,” he said.
