An Innocent Life, Lost in Cruel Hands
As I write this post, my heart is filled with a lot of bitterness and sadness, when I stop to think of how insecurity on Kenyan roads is rising day and night. Every day, people lose their valuables, others are attacked and left for the dead, and even worse, others lose their lives on our roads.
Shockingly, this has become accepted, even by Kenyan authorities. They sit back and do very little or nothing about it, and when something goes wrong, they point fingers to the victims, claiming that they landed themselves in trouble, by being on the way at the right or as they often put it, at the wrong time.
Just three weeks ago, yet another life was lost, in cruel hands. He was a victim of a robbery, along Kenya's well-known Uhuru Highway. His name was Martin Gitehi Njuma. "Who was Martin?" I hear you ask. The Late Martin Njuma, was Kenya Airway's (KQ) youngest pilot flying a boeing 777. At 29,Martin seemed to have it all. A great career, wonderful parents, two lovely sisters, Eudia Wandia and Penny Wamoce, a beautiful daughter, Leilani Wanjiru and to crown it all, just before Christmas of 2009 he proposed to the love of his life, Rebecca Ngoiri Nguru.
And then, it happened. On the night of 16 January 2010, Martin was driving along Uhuru Highway at about 3:00am. He had been attending a friend's birthday party in Lang'ata, when it was decided that the party should continue in Westlands. When he reached the Bunyala Road roundabout on Uhuru Highway, his car stalled. He then called his friends who were not far behind him, but by the time they got to his car barely five miutes later, Martin was nowhere to be found. After searching for him, they found him lying in a pool of a blood on a bench, unconscious and left for the dead. They rushed him to hospital, but unfortunately he died less than 24 hours later.
I remember Martin very well. I knew him, ever since back in the days of primary school, at Hospital Hill primary school. He was two years ahead of me, in the same class with my older brother Solomon. They also went to High school together. Two things I will always remember about him, were his big heart, and his affectious smile. After this incident that took away a life that was treasured by many, one police officer dared to say that Martin put his life in danger by being on the road at that time of the morning.
Now I wonder, should Kenyans be given a curfew of what time they should be out of the roads to be safe? And isn't it the responsibility of the Kenyan police officers to ensure the safety of Kenyan citizens regardless of what time they choose to travel? And if this incident had occurred during the day, what would they have said???? And to the cruel hands, I ask, is it really worth taking a life away? Why not take what you want from them and leave them alone?
Thankfully, the Njuma family, Becky, relatives and friends have come together and started an awareness campaign, to educate fellow Kenyans on how insecure our roads have become. They will not stop, until something is done, and no more lives are lost in a highway that will haunt them forever.
R.I.P Martin Njuma. You will remain forever in our hearts.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSGbEftHoKY
posted by Liz_kare @ 10:48 pm
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