The ‘jinny’ black spot of Nakuru

By KEN OKABINI

JINIS have been blamed for a spate of death at a Nakuru highway spot. According to residents who talked to Nakuru post , the dark spot near blankets factory along Nakuru/ Nairobi highway claim over 50 people a year who die in fatal accidents involving vehicles plying along the highway.

According to the residents of Free Area estate near the black spot, drivers allegedly visualize a woman and a kid crossing the highway. Thus, in an attempt of avoiding an accident by hitting the mother and child, the drivers allegedly collide and cause accidents.

The residents say that jinis or evil spirits suspected to be owned by a local tycoon are behind the wave of accidents. The sources that sought not to be named told of strange accidents where blood from victims allegedly disappears after drying up straight away and linked this to demons.

A recent accident along the highway claimed over five different family members after a bus and a lorry collided head on.

Other black spots in Nakuru include the section near Nakuru State House and KFA round about near Total Petrol station along Eldoret /Nakuru highway.

Veteran Nakuru politician, educationist and researcher Dr.Taita Toweet perished in a horrendous smash-up with a pick-up ferrying food stuff along the highway two years ago. Yet tears had not dried on the faces of gospel music fans in the country mourning the untimely death of the then renowned gospel music queen Angela Chibalonza in another tragic accident on the same road.

Jinis or evil spirits in form of human beings and scanty animals are encountered especially at Kenya’s coast region and the neighboring Tanzania republic.

Locally many people believe that wealthy people own jinis as a source of their riches and that the evil spirits now and then demand sacrifices of human beings. People link many strange happenings in society like tragic accidents to the works of jinis, yet often discussed in hushed tones.

While addressing a roads safety stakeholders meeting in Nairobi the minister for roads Franklin Bet hinted that though the rate of roads accidents in the country had recorded a decline from 11347- 8449 in the past one year at least ten people die every day on Kenyan roads.

Bet said that the 1.3 vehicles in the country have a low level of motorization. He said that the government would soon establish a national road safety authority to address the problem.