A religious leader in Narok County has called on the Kenya National Highway Authority (KeNHA) to erect signposts on designated animal crossing points along the Bomet-Narok-Maai Mahiu Road to avert increased incidents along the busy highway.
The call in the wake of the killing of three people while seven were injured after residents barricaded the road in the Duka moja area, demanding compensation for their sheep that had been knocked by a speeding vehicle.
The Friday incident also saw a police officer’s left hand chopped off, and he was airlifted to Kenyatta Hospital for specialised medication.
Pentecostal Assemblies of God (PAG) Bishop John Ole Mpurkoi said there was no clear point designated for animal crossing as the signage that had earlier been erected had been vandalised.
However, the spiritual leader warned the Maa community against taking the law into their hands and challenged them to follow the right procedure when such incidents occur to avert chaos and deaths as experienced recently.
“There is a better way to resolve conflicts other than blocking a busy highway. We need to resolve our issues amicably and in a decent manner that will earn our community respect,” he said.
The bishop also called on livestock farmers to do modern farming, where a farmer keeps few productive livestock that gives more return.
He discouraged the traditional livestock farming method where one farmer owned hundreds of livestock, saying the practice is outdated as the land has been demarcated.
“Before, we lived on communal land, and our animals used to graze on a vast land; however, with modernisation, the land has been subdivided, forcing us to keep only a few manageable animals,” he said.
The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) Narok office, in charge of Gitonga Muranga, asked members of the public not to take the law into their own hands but to learn to resolve disputes in a decent manner that would not lead to losses.
This is not the first time residents of the Duka Moja area barricaded the road to express their dissatisfaction with the way the motorists were using the highway.
A few months ago, the residents blocked the road in the Ntulele area after a lorry belonging to Brookside Company knocked and killed two youth who were travelling on a motorcycle.
By Ann Salaton