Three people died after an accident involving boda boda riders and a West Kenya Sugar company truck along the Shamberere-Lukume road in Malava constituency.
The accident occurred on Saturday afternoon when the speeding truck lost control only to overturn and fall on a boda boda rider who at the time was carrying two passengers.
Angry residents who were at the scene had to wait for more than four hours before the company could release its winch machines to help in lifting the truck. The residents decided to pull the cane by hand and were able to retrieve one body before receiving help from the company that is just three hundred meters.
After lifting the truck, two more bodies were pulled underneath.
The angry mob decided to set ablaze the truck over the company’s delay to send help.
However hell broke loose when the same mob decided to set ablaze a fire brigade truck that the company had sent to put out the sugarcane truck fire.
Police from Kabras police station engaged the locals in running battles firing teargas canisters in the air whilst the locals pelted stones.
Those that spoke to West Media faulted the company’s move to hire new drivers who are always competing.
“West Kenya company has taken over our road. Their huge trucks keep on parking on the road and have inconvenienced the flow of traffic. Worse thing is that these new drivers keep competing on who has a big number of tonnage thus causing accidents,” said one of the locals.
They are further accusing the Sugar Company of high headedness saying that the sugar mill has no respect for the law and numerous complaints channeled to the management office have been given a cold shoulder.
“West Kenya Sugar Company is located just three hundred meters from this accident scene, how can the Company fail for more than five hours to send help?” they posed.
“If the government will not handle this issue, we as the community are going to sit down and force the Company to close down to ensure sanity is restored,” said one of the residents. The angry mob set ablaze two trailers and a fire truck belonging to West Kenya Sugar Company.
Last month workers at the Company held a demonstration protesting the Company’s move to ignore a court order that had ruled to see the harmonization of their salaries and back dating payment since the year 2017.