Police in Migori launched a manhunt for an amateur engineer who caused an accident using his homemade vehicle on Saturday, November 12, 2022.
Eyewitnesses claimed that the budding engineer collided with a Suzuki Alto while speeding on a highway.
Preliminary reports indicated that the unregistered car's brakes failed, and the driver's attempts to swerve off the road failed, forcing him to ram into traffic.
"He screamed while causing the accident, complaining that his breaks were faulty. We rushed to his aid after his screams attracted our attention," a boda rider at the scene recalled.
The impact of the collision forced the female driver in the rammed car to swerve off the road. Her rear windshield also shattered into pieces while the trunk was dented.
After realising that he had caused road carnage, the suspect took to his heels and fled the crime scene. He was said to have been scared of the passers-by and riders who threatened to descend on him.
A glimpse of the unhooded homemade vehicle detailed that it encompassed an assortment of motor parts with connecting metals and wires, a motor engine that resembled a generator, a steering wheel and a wooden seat on top.
Residents who narrated the events unfolding disclosed that the man was well known to them due to his frequent trips around the area.
Some residents were impressed by his prowess, while others questioned why traffic police officers had never impounded the car nor apprehended the driver who travelled the county without relevant documents.
Despite the unfortunate event, residents amazed by the creation called on the county government to employ the suspect, citing his innovation and creativity.
Police reached out to the resident to aid in tracking the suspect down.
In recent years, several innovators have attempted to assemble vehicles. Budding engineers, some of them school dropouts, lamented the stringent laws capping innovators, the high cost of compiling equipment, financial constraints and the lack of proper resources.
Four years ago, a 31-year-old artisan, Harrison Etiang from Kocholia in Teso North, was in the spotlight after inventing a car christened 'Car Sos'.
The homemade car ran on a motorbike engine, had a steering wheel, a speedometer, three passenger seats, and an exterior made of scrap metal.
Etiang later developed a homemade aircraft but suffered a mishap after a propeller broke, injuring a man along the way. The Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) banned the aircraft.
In October 2022, Geoffery Otieno, from Rabongo village, Siaya County, built a helicopter with scrap metal.
