How Ngata replaced Sachangwan as the killer stretch

When you hear about the Ngata section of the Nakuru-Eldoret highway, one thing comes to mind: road carnage.

In the past, the Sachangwan-Salgaa stretch was the place that was popular when it comes to road accidents, with many lives lost, but since the erection of the barriers, it has somehow provided a permanent solution to the deadly pile-ups on that stretch of road.

Now the Ngata stretch has acquired the infamous tag of being a black spot, and as you make your way along this stretch you will see the giant signs with yellow backgrounds and black skeletons indicating that you are approaching a very dangerous stretch of road.

Over the past three years, numerous reports by various government agencies have highlighted the high number of accidents in Nakuru, most of which occur on this dreaded stretch.

Some of the deadly accidents that have hit the headlines include the December 13, 2022 accident that claimed seven lives and left 13 injured, the November 6, 2023 accident that claimed 11 lives and left several injured.

Just this month seven people died from a road crash at the same blackspot.

Mtaa Wangu spoke to a Sobea resident who uses the road daily to get to her home who said that using the road has become a very risky business.

"Using this road should be on the list of a thousand ways to die because just by using this road you are risking your life," Ann Mureithi said.

For Vincent Oloo he is particularly afraid when he uses a matatu.

"We sometimes joke with our friends that we would rather get off the matatu and walk this stretch of road and get on another matatu at Sobea on our way to Rongai," Mr Oloo said.

The Nairobi-Nakuru highway has also come under the spotlight on a number of occasions, with several fatal collisions occurring at various points along the route.

With the launch of the National Road Safety Action Plan 2024-2028, we hope it will be effective and help reduce the number of road accidents we experience on these major highways.