Listening to his voice on the radio as he reports on various human interest stories, you would never know that William Sawe is a survivor of a road accident that happened 23 years ago that left him paralysed in his left arm.

It is an accident that has left him with metal implants in his left hand.

On that fateful day, he was on his way to Koibatek to take some people to the then Kenya Football Association elections in which he was a candidate.

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He took a friend's car, a Peugeot 504, and set off for Koibatek, but the next thing he remembers is the pain in his hand caused by the accident he was involved in in Isageri area of Baringo County.

Sawe broke his left hand in the accident. He also lost his memory, which returned three months after the accident.

He recalls being rushed to Mercy Mission Hospital in a critical condition before being transferred to Valley Hospital where he was treated.

"I never understood what happened, but what I know is that I was involved in an accident in Isageri and broke my arm," he says.

However, his discharge from the hospital was not easy. The hospital demanded Sh600,000, and attempts by his brothers to deposit their land title deeds to release him failed.

It took the intervention of Nakuru-based journalist Francis Mureithi, who made calls to the facility, and finally there was light at the end of the tunnel when the facility accepted the title deed and he was allowed to leave.

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"I called my friend Mureithi and told him that I had been discharged from hospital but had no money to pay the bill. His intervention paid off because the next day I was told that the title deed could be accepted so I could leave the facility," says Sawe.

It took him almost 15 years to make the full payment. Despite the psychological torture he endured after the accident, Sawe, who now lives permanently with metal implants in his left arm, has a message for Kenyans, advising them to ensure that whenever they travel in a vehicle, whether public or private, they have insurance to help them in the event of an accident.

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"To date, it has taken me almost 15 years to pay off the Sh600,000 medical bill. I therefore urge Kenyans to ensure that they have personal insurance or that whenever they board a vehicle, it has insurance to avert the expenses I went through," says Sawe.

pmambili@gmail.com

William Sawe: I have to live with metal implants and a paralysed arm after a horrific car accident

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Pristone Mambili