Orals East Africa>Kisumu Kakamega black spot where residents predict accidents At the hut of the story

Written by Oral East Africa

Along Kisumu Kakamega Highway, lies one of the most dangerous stretches of road that has claimed so many lives, that residents literally predict accidents.

Yesterday as we passed the Coptic area in the afternoon we were remarking at how the stretch of tarmac steeped down the Riat Hills as you approach Kisumu city in such impossible angles to avoid speeding.

The rumble bumps, the warning signs, the almost giant skull declaring it a black spot, and the government warning drivers not to even consider engaging free gear are not enough to slow down the rate of accidents on that road.

Structurally it slants too suddenly, off the slopes and one then has to negotiate a roundabout that has been painted on the sides of Riat Hills around Coptic Church. Here even small cars lurch at the angles created by the slanting road and the horizontal roundabout.

NO FREE GEAR

Huge lorries especially those that lack familiarity with this road stand no chance. Those who engage in free gear are almost certain to lose control.

Yesterday at that very spot we saw a white lorry speeding down the road at an unusual speed that we had to pave way for him. We were just having a conversation about the reasons for the free gear warning when it sped past us.

It ran over the rumble bumps like the driver had not intended it, clearly showing signs of distress.

The brakes could not now stop it from the bump that approached and the hot tyres just kept on scrubbing the hot tarmac until he hit the bump and lurched over straight for the roundabout now propelled more by the flight, gravity and kinesis into the slope below.

Black spot roundabout

There was no way anyone was in control of the large two-tonne cage of metal tin that bobbed over the roundabout towards oncoming traffic. It is a miracle that it was wobbling because it hit the tarmac then flipped back to the left and headed straight out of the road into the gutter.

Here it rested belly up-its mangled sides opened up where spikes of young sapling trees, used as fencing poles stuck out. The hot tyres had caught fire and residents rushed to put it out and retrieved the driver who was lucky to be alive.

His white truck had marked the road with its garish scratches, where many others had left their marks before.

Where we had parked to take photos, the road was coloured with scratch marks of different cars, some slammed onto street lights, electric poles, and even the houses that lie adjacent to the road.

Residents warned us to move our car telling us the next accident was always about to happen and the spot just off that road where the government had put up a stage is the angle that the road had the highest probability of accidents.

Mythical explanations

The Roundabout is named Coptic after the church that lies along that road and that which outsiders of course find mysterious. It is bad enough to be named after a road where countless collisions, car wrecks, auto accidents, fender benders, pile-ups and car crashes that have claimed lives throughout the years along the Kisumu Kakamega highway.

The church which residents consider eccentric has carried the blame in local lore although many acknowledge driver mistakes and structural faults play a bigger role.

For Ronald Otieno, growing up the name Coptic was quite a famous name in the lake region, although its fame wasn’t something people were free to talk about. Every time the name was mentioned it had a dark mood which sparked his interest as a child due to his free and inquisitive nature.

“The mention of Coptic Round about always had a sad mood, there was this one night as breaking news was spreading all over about some prominent Luo artist and his fellow band perished after a performance in Kisumu and we started talking about the incidents and there were so many, the Chavakali boys incident which claimed 1 life and 32 others attaining serious injuries and just to mention a few,” he said.