Decisive action must be taken to avert accidental deaths
The causes of death in this nation have of late become so predictable that one must not go to the hospital records to check number of deaths but just sit by the a radio to note those who have been vanquished by road carnage, fire tragedies, illegal brews or collapsed buildings. We have even forgotten the perennial killers like Malaria, HIV/AIDS and Cancer.
We must feel disappointed that we have forgotten the hunger that is ravaging most parts of the country to shift our focus to opportunistic deaths that we saw coming but couldn’t prevent just because a decision was not firmly made. Our case is so tragic that if decisive measures are not taken, productive and patriotic Kenyans will continue to uncontrollably languish.
We play the blames games amongst us and our leaders or point fingers at infectious impunity that has embedded itself at the heart of the Kenyan society but the buck stops at the implementation of the measures to prevent such deaths.
The tragedy with this nation is that while we have the laws to prevent such deaths or punish those who punish them, indecisiveness on the part of effecting the law is to blame for the massive deaths that we have faced in the recent past. Impunity must not only be looked at as failure to obey the law but also the sheer inability to effect the law fully.
Decisiveness should also be the people’s. Kenyans must learn to obey the law and regard it at all times. As Chief Justice Willy Mutunga once put it, Kenyans must be law abiding citizens as this would even help reduce the number of cases in our courts.
The stakeholders in the implementation of Public Health laws like the Local Government, Public Health Officers and Policemen must not be compromised in their mandates to protect Kenyans.
Political interests that put Kenyans’ lives at risk must be discarded and the politicians brought to book. If a politician can incite the public against Government Officers who want to demolish poorly constructed buildings and get away with it, it is a shame to the dreamed of a changed nation which we yearn to have.
As a Public Health Officer, I feel that we must be allowed to do our jobs. It is us who carry out quality controls and inspections of the things that affect our lives. We deal with buildings approvals, land and settlement management and occupational safety. We participate in the demarcation of inhabitable places due to the dangers they pose to the people. We must shun interferences that hinder our work in protecting Kenyans.
The government needs to embark on a serious awareness creation to reach the most ignorant citizens so that we create values amidst us that help us know that overloading in PSVs, sipping leaked fuel and living in landslide prone areas or dangerous spots are not only unlawful but also dangerous.
To safeguard the lives of Kenyans for posterity against these deaths, we must invest empowering them through education, employment, better housing and fighting corruption.
Chrispory Juma Ombuya
The writer is a pre-graduate student of the School of Public Health, Moi University based in Oyugis town
