Since independence, residents of Omako Koth and Marera villages in Ndhiwa constituency, Homa Bay county are still languishing in poor transport and lack of roads.
So dire is the situation that the only better road they can boast of is the Homa Bay-Mbita tarmacked road which is, however, five to seven kilometres away.
The situation has now forced the villagers to have to trek for many kilometres to access health care, the situation worsening when mourning and death knocks.
Steve Biko, a resident of Marera is one of the victims of the situation after being forced to carry the casket of his mother Zilpa Oloo on his back, with the help of fellow villagers from the morgue to the village for burial.
“It was painful for me to carry the body of my mother home from the main road. The situation aggravated the sorrow that was afflicting us,” Biko told the Standard.
An 80-year-old Michael Ojwang, also a resident, said that the situation has made it very necessary for families to have young and energetic men.
Failure to this, they are forced to procure the service of youthful men to help them with the job, which can be rather expensive.
"The problem comes when a family with an inadequate number of young men loses a loved one. At times bereaved families have to spend more money on hiring people who carry the caskets,” said Ojwang as quoted by the Standard.
Kanyamwa Kologi MCA David Oloo, however, gave a ray of hope to the locals saying that 12 kilometres of road will be constructed soon to address the plight of his locals.