Taita Taveta Woman Representative Lydia Haika has been thrust into the spotlight after her car reportedly hit and killed a man along the busy Nairobi-Mombasa Highway.
A report by Citizen TV on Wednesday, July 28, speculated that when the incident happened at around 8 pm, the lawmaker was aboard the government vehicle.
Confirming the incident, Makueni police boss Ole Napeiyan revealed that the man, who was said to be in his middle age, passed away on the spot.
The accident occured at Matunda Stage in Sultan Hamud.
The body of the deceased was transferred to Kilungu Nursing Home.
The broadcaster also indicated that the MP, who was in the company of another woman, reportedly fled the scene of the accident after it happened.
Our attempts to ascertain the nature of the incident were futile as the Woman rep's phone had been switched off by the time we published this story.
The car was later towed to Sultan Hamud Police Station in Makueni County.
Road accidents have been on the rise year after year and the situation has been worsened by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Economic Survey 2020 indicated that traffic accidents had increased by 39 per cent from 5,158 in 2018 to 7,184 in 2019.
This comes even as the number of vehicles entering the Kenyan roads keeps increasing with 2019 having recorded an increase of over 7%.
Pedestrians have been the most affected class of road users with National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) showing that by April 2020, 367 pedestrians had passed away as compared to 348 who passed away in the first quarter of 2019.
The laws of Kenya also provide that overspeeding offences attract a fine of between Ksh 500 and Ksh 10,000 while pedestrians walking on undesignated areas will pay a fine of Ksh 500.
