A Naivasha farmer is counting losses after a lorry run over his sheep and goats killing 56 of them.
The accident along the Naivasha-Maai Mahiu road affected the flow of traffic as the owner and other pastoralists tried to come to terms with the accident.
Scores of the sheep and goats were also injured by the trailer which was heading from Nairobi to Nakuru and did not stop. Emotions ran high as the carcasses were removed from the highway with tens of members of the public eager to cart away the ‘free’ meat arrived at the scene.
A 15-year-old boy who was taking care of the livestock was also injured on his hand and head by the trailer. Incidentally, 28 sheep were killed by a trailer near the scene two months ago as they were crossing from one side of the road to the other.
According to a witness John Ole Parasupula, the animals were heading to a nearby dam for water when the speeding trailer ran over them. The herder said that due to the harsh weather conditions, the animals had been moving from one area to the other in search of pastures.
“The animals were crossing the road when the speeding lorry ran over them and fled leaving 56 of them dead,” he said.
The emotional pastoralists expressed his concern over the high losses that the community was undergoing along the busy road.
“This is not the first time that our livestock have been killed by speeding trucks and we are calling on the government to erect speed bumps along this section of the road,” he said.
The injured boy said that the accident happened very fast as the lorry which was going downhill was in very high speed.
“Some of the goats were thrown on my face injuring me while others were run over the speeding trailer,” he said.
At the scene members of the public some armed with knives and papers bags waited patiently to have a share of the meat.
In the last couple of weeks the number of pastoralists seeking pastures around the lakeside town has been on the increase.