The alarming truth about Nakuru's pedestrian crossings

When rapper Juliani once quipped, “Pedestrians wanapisha gari kupita kwa zebra crossing,” he might as well have been talking about Nakuru. Because here, the black-and-white stripes points painted across the roads, seem to serve more as decoration than as lifesaving pedestrian crossings.

Take, for example, a hot afternoon outside Nyayo Gardens, near the road leading to Woolmatt Supermarket. The crossing is clearly marked, but what happens there tells a different story. Rather than cars slowing down, it is the pedestrians who wait, hesitant as they time their dash across the road like contestants in a dangerous game of chance. Some even sprint to avoid being hit by speeding vehicles that completely ignore the crossing.

The same is true along Kenyatta Avenue. There are pedestrian crossings—but there are also boda boda riders weaving in and out of traffic to pick up or drop off passengers. To stay safe, you must let them pass first.

Of course, not every motorist is reckless. Some still respect what they were taught in driving school and stop to let pedestrians cross, even when impatient drivers behind them honk in protest. Hongera kwenu.

'Every time you cross the road in Nakuru, it's like you're starring in an episode of A Thousand Ways to Die,' says Martin Odhiambo, a businessperson at Prime Plaza. says.He says that, during rush hour especially, between 5 pm and 8 pm, zebra crossings might as well not exist.

'You have to be very alert, or you might end up with a broken leg,' he adds.

Not everyone disregards the rules though. Allan Mwangi, a boda boda rider, says he always stops for pedestrians.

“Most of the speed bumps on Kenyatta Avenue are high, so you naturally slow down. I usually just stop completely to let pedestrians cross,' he says.

Still, one section — right outside Nyayo Gardens — remains notorious. If you're not paying attention, you could become another grim statistic.

The statistics are worrying: Between June 2024 and March 2025, 1,342 pedestrians were killed in road crashes, according to the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA).

The NTSA has previously warned that the risk to pedestrians is highest in urban areas such as Nakuru, where human and vehicular traffic are concentrated.

'Infrastructure facilities and traffic control mechanisms that separate pedestrians from motor vehicles and enable them to cross safely are important to ensure their safety,' the NTSA said, as quoted by The Standard on March 10, 2024.

Until such measures are implemented, however, crossing the road in Nakuru will remain a leap of faith.