Boda boda rider electrocuted in Bungoma 

A boda boda rider was Wednesday electrocuted in Bungoma County after he stepped on a live wire in stagnant rain water which he was using to wash his motorcycle.

The incident happened at a spot boda boda operators are known to take their bikes for a wash in Siritanyi area in Kanduyi on the Malaba-Eldoret highway.

The cable had been lying on the ground after a Kenya Power pole was knocked down by a vehicle the previous evening, the Nation has learnt.

Residents and boda boda riders in the area protested along the busy highway over what they termed as negligence by the power company.

The protests disrupted traffic flow on the highway for about an hour before they dispersed by the police who lobbed tear gas canisters at the protesters.

Mr David Simiyu, a boda boda rider, said the cable was cut by a Malaba-bound trailer around 3pm on Tuesday, and even after Kenya Power employees were called to the scene they did not do anything about it.

Bungoma South police boss Wilson Nanga called for calm and promised to have the incident investigated.

Kenya Power Bungoma County business manager, Eric Langat, said the case has been forwarded to the Energy Petroleum Regulatory Authority for further probe. 

The body of the deceased man was later taken to Bungoma County Referral Hospital mortuary. 

The incident came just a day after Kenya Power said a total of 345 Kenyans have been electrocuted in the last three years.

The utility firm’s manager for safety, health and environment John Guda, attributed 74 percent of the electrocutions to unsafe public practices, including illegal electricity connections, poor wiring, vandalism and wayleave encroachments.

The other 26 percent of the deaths, he said, were caused by negligence and non-compliant standards of Kenya Power and contractors.

“In the 2018/2019 fiscal year 104 deaths were recorded while 148 people were electrocuted in 2019/2020. In the current financial year, 93 people have lost their lives so far,” Mr Guda told KNA in Wote.

Nakuru was singled out as the worst hit county in terms of electrocution, with Kiambu, Uasin Gishu, Kisii, Nyamira, Makueni, Busia, Siaya and Kwale counties also suffering casualties.

Mr Langat asked Kenyans to desist from illegal connections and instead use the utility firm to get connected to the gird.

“As we increase our connection, we have also seen an increase of electrocutions in the country which is a concern for us and that is why we are sensitizing the public on electrical safety,’’ Mr Guda said, even as he warned against vandalism which he said often causes outages.