Civil society activist and Ford Kenya official Joab Wakola Butalia says government must act….Photo/IP
By IP Digital Desk
The Lwakhakha–Chwele road is slowly turning into a gladiator swallowing lives, and residents are asking a painful question: how many more deaths will it take before the government acts?
In just three months, at least 8 people have died in accidents along this narrow and dilapidated road.
Two people lost their lives at Kaburweti area — one a resident of Londo in Sitabicha and the other a Ugandan traveler who was simply passing through.
Last week, tragedy struck again when an ambulance driver from Sirisia Sub-County Level 4 Hospital, a resident of Tulyenge, died in an accident near Lwandanyi market.
Barely two days later, another crash occurred near Miracle Church in Lwandanyi, just about 400 meters from the previous accident site.
A young motorcyclist identified as Chally from Mwombe suburb died on the spot while carrying a friend.
The pillion passenger is now fighting for his life in hospital and this is just a fraction of the tragedy.
Residents say more than 30 lives have been lost over the years at known black spots including Tulyenge, Namang’ofulo, Namutokholo, Namwela and Kimabole/Sirisia junction.
Yet the road remains narrow, full of potholes and classified as a low-volume road despite carrying heavy international cargo traffic.
Trailers heading to South Sudan frequently use it as a shortcut through Mbale, while empty trucks returning to Mombasa also prefer the route to escape congestion at the Malaba and Busia one-stop border points.
During the rainy season in the Mt. Elgon region, trucks lose control on steep sections and have plunged into River Ndakaru, River Malakisi, River Kakala and near Wapukha.
Ironically, once you cross into Uganda through Lwakhakha, the road towards Mbale and Kampala is a well-built A1 highway with far fewer accidents.
In 2023, President William Ruto promised to upgrade the Lwakhakha–Chwele road to A1 standards and build a one-stop border post at Lwakhakha to ease cargo pressure from Malaba.
Three years later, nothing has happened.
Residents are now blaming KENHA and local political leaders for keeping silent while lives continue to be lost.
This road is not just a local road.
It is a regional economic corridor connecting Kenya, Uganda and South Sudan, used by buses, traders, horticultural exporters and thousands of cargo trucks.
Yet today it remains one of the most dangerous roads in Bungoma County.
This is not about careless driving.
It is about failed infrastructure, broken promises and a government that has gone silent while citizens die.
The question remains:
Will the government upgrade the road now — or wait until more coffins line the roadside?
