Villagers in Molem village, Marioshoni ward, Molo sub-county, were on July 30, 2024, forced to transport a body using a tractor, due to the poor state of roads in the area.

Cosmus Talam, a resident of the area, tells Mtaa Wangu that this is not an extraordinary phenomenon.

He recounts how he was among residents who recently volunteered to transfer his neighbour’s body from a hearse to a tractor to ferry the deceased to his home for a befitting send off.

Cosmas Talam, a resident of Mariashoni was forced to put his brother's body in a tractor after the roads became impassable.

Photo credit: COURTESY

"It pains me so much that we had to do this for my neighbour," he says. "If it were up to the deceased, this is not a send-off he’d have liked. We all pay taxes, and it's not right that one of us goes to their grave in a car while another has to use a tractor."

The road connecting Sachangwan to Molem, winding through Kwa Shimo to Kaprop, is in poor condition, according to Talam.

Many times, residents have been forced to use tractors to transport produce, and now, as Talam notes, even to transport the deceased.

He reveals to Mtaa Wangu that he had undergone quite a similar experience in 2018 with his brother.

"The roads are so poor that in 2018, when I lost my brother, his body stayed at home for two straight days before we could take him to the morgue," Talam discloses. "Even when we finally got a vehicle willing to transport his body, we first had to carry him in gunny sacks from our home to Molem, where the vehicle was parked."

He adds that the situation is no different for expectant mothers and sick people. They too are often carried to where vehicles can reach, as even motorcycles cannot access their homes.

Many end up delivering at home due to this inaccessibility.

"We can sometimes go for months wearing only gumboots because rain water fills the road, making it look like a river," Talam criticizes.

He decries the neglect by their local leaders and describes it as an unfair distribution of resources in the ward, especially affecting the Ogiek community.

"In areas like Kapsinendet, Chai Moto, and Block 10, we see development projects happening twice a year. But residents along Segemyat, Indashaiti, Jack Solo road, and some parts of Kitiro sub-location have been pleading with our leaders to address these inequalities," he laments.

He calls on the county government to care about them as much as they do for people in other parts of the ward and county.

Last week, a video circulating on social media also showed residents of Njoro sub-county carrying a coffin up a hilly road that, according to them, had been destroyed by heavy rains and neglected by their leaders.

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Leleti Jassor