By Chak Rachar

Barely days after a grisly road accident along Kisumu –Kakamega Road at the Junction heading towards Mamboleo which killed over thirty passengers residents of Kisumu are even before coming into terms with the said incident are wondering precisely what has been put in place so that any other incident can be prevented and not blame games tilted towards some quarters after a disaster strike.

Across section of angry and angered residents were lamenting that the incident was caused by “human error” as they blamed the police officers who were manning the road block whom they were accusing of having stopped the two matatus for routine road checks only for a lorry which and lost control to ram into the two matatus which were stationary.

Some quarters within the town however dismisses this argument saying that the lorry lost control and hit the stationary vehicles and wondered what the police were expected to do.

Across section of the residents interviewed by “The Nyanza weekly” gave diverse opinions in regard to how any kind of disaster can be averted or prevented but they agreed on one point that the authorities concerned only acts when a disaster occurs or an incident happens then afterwards everything is forgotten and “is business as usual”

Kisumu Town Residents Welfare Association official Raymond Odhiambo Genga is however calling on the police not to subject law enforcement to the area’s residents public opinion.

“After the road block which was being blamed as the cause of the accident was removed now there are outcries of insecurity along the same road by people who were talking loudly about the said road block’s insignificance, the police should not be led by emotions or public moods to enforce law” he adds.

Ondele says that security provision and prevention of such an accident not to happen should be what the law enforcers should be concerned about and not be subjecting themselves to public opinion and courts.

“Why should the police consult or listen to emotions when it comes to law enforcements?” he wondered.

Some section of the area residents laments that the authorities concerned are just watching most areas which can led to disastrous deaths.

A boda boda cyclist who never wanted his name to be mentioned says that near the Kisumu Bus stop it’s a mixture of tuk, tuks, bicycles, motor vehicles and hawkers displaying their wares on the pedestrian lanes which pedestrians should be using.

“Such lanes are now hawking zones and hawkers at the Oile Park have outnumbered the park and the authorities are doing very little about or ignoring it, assume an emergency occurs with only two narrow exists” he wonders.

Cross check within most of the social joints within Kisumu Town mostly nightly shows that the said only have one single entry which is used as an exit at the same time.

A senior Police officer based at the Kisumu Divisional Police Headquarters wonders how such social places are being giving licenses by the area’s District Liquor Licensing Board.

“there are almost four night spots within this town which I can not understand how they were given licence to operate, first they have narrow exit which combines as an entrance, incase of any incident many lives are mostly to be lost as people scramble for the exit, another one is housed on a storey building and is only accessed by a single lift which can only carry eight people at a go and very narrow staircases which can not help much in case of emergency evacuation or exits” the police officer who never wanted to be mentioned lamented.

He adds that the other social joint is on a basement with virtually no disaster handling gadgets like fire extinguishers and emergency exists amongst to a point that only dead bodies will be collected and not casualties who are hospital destined.

He also talked of a night club which usually is full to the brim a and it’s located along the beer which has only a single narrow entrance which also doubles also as exits and its surrounded by a wall fence.

“I wonder if truly the concerned have made any efforts of visiting such areas with a view of getting the true situation on the ground before availing operational licenses for such.

Civil Society Organization boss Betty Okero laments that the authorities concerned are negligent and are not concerned with likely life loosing disasters which are looming in the horizon yet no one is paying attention to such which are evidently looming.

“Take a walk and start checking the buildings along Oginga Odinga Street and tell me how many have two doors or an emergency exit, Kisumu is one of the areas which is really ill prepared for disaster handling and someone should be held responsible when a disaster occurs, why wait till lives are lost then blame games begins between government departments? The buck must stop with someone” she adds

She also wonders why anytime there is a disaster looming like say siphoning of the fuel from a fuel carrying tanker law enforcers uses live bullets, now is that not adding a disaster to an already happened disaster” she says saying that such happened in an accident within the town recently and a woman lost his life.

She also says that there is need for serious civic education on disaster preparedness within Kisumu town as she adds that most residents within the city are ignorant even about a fire alarm and rather than doing what is required of them during a time a fire alarm is raised many will be found asking and standing at one point asking what is likely to happen.

“Most of all fire drills exercise should be done within the town as many times as possible together with any other exercise which is aimed at sensitizing in regard to disaster preparedness” she adds.

She says most back streets within the major streets within Kisumu are blocked with kiosks or are heavily barricaded to avert thefts within the said buildings to appoint that in case any emergency exiting becomes areal problem.

“Why are the local authorities and the Provincial Administration ignoring all these? Also how regularly are institutions inspected to check if they meet the standards and they have capacities to handle any form of disaster” she adds.

However, Kisumu OCPD Musa Kangoli says that as a law enforces they are firmly and fully on the ground so that any disaster is averted but says it should be a joint effort including the residents.

“The Police can not do anything, this is an area we must pull all our efforts together and on allegations of social places which are on a time bomb for a likely disaster he says that he will personally visit the said places and make a report to the district Liquor Licensing Board and if need be their licenses can be withdrawn.

“The licenses were issued when I had not arrived ion Kisumu but that does not make me take any action which is law based” he added.

ENDS