On Friday, April 28, a motorist was fined Ksh630,000, with an alternative of spending four years in jail for causing death by dangerous driving while speeding on the wrong side of James Gichuru Road in 2012.
The case had dragged in court for 11 years before the ruling was issued.
“Causing death by dangerous driving, the accused person shall pay a fine of Ksh200,000 in default serve three years imprisonment. In count four, the accused person shall pay a fine of Ksh30,000 in default serve one year imprisonment," stated Senior Principal Magistrate Derrick Kutto of the Kibera Law Courts in Nairobi.
The motorist's driving license was also cancelled for two years,”
The family, however, termed the judgement a travesty of justice, too weak and unexpected.
“This sentence is a slap on the wrist. It does not send out the correct signal out to the people of Kenya about the value of human life and about the importance of cautiousness and prudence on the road,” noted a mother of one of the victims.
One of the survivors further expressed his disappointment at the ruling immediately after the court session.
“After all this struggle to find that it is a non-custodial sentence and that he can either pay a fine of Ksh630,000 or possibly serve a sentence in jail, makes me feel like there has been no justice,” he lamented.
In 2015, government pathologist Johansen Oduor testified in the case, presenting autopsy reports. A watchman who also witnessed the accident claimed that the driver was drunk.
On April 22, Transport Cabinet Secretary, Kipchumba Murkomen announced that cameras will be installed on major roads and used to administer instant fines to combat road carnages. He also ordered the police to enforce traffic laws strictly.
According to an April 2023 report by National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA), 1,072 people died in road accidents between January - March 2023.
The Nairobi to Nakuru Highway registered the highest number of accidents in the aforementioned period.
