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Mombasa slum residents call for completion of flyover

The flyover under construction at Bangladesh in Mombasa on Thursday, February 7, 2019. /BRIAN OTIENO

Residents of Bangladesh slum in Mombasa county want a contractor to speed up the construction of a flyover near their area to reduce accidents.
On Thursday, a 34-year-old man was knocked down by a trailer and left for dead.
Ndune Mwachiro was crossing the road after alighting from a matatu from work when he was hit.
“I happened to be passing the area when I saw many people. Upon inquiry I learnt that someone had been knocked down and was unconscious. I quickly mobilised people and we rushed him to Coast General hospital,” Haki Africa rapid response officer Mathias Shipeta said on Friday.
Mwachiro was admitted at the Pandya Memorial Hospital after being transferred from Coast General Hospital.
He suffered severe head injuries and had to be taken to the ICU, his wife Lilian Owuor said.
Shipeta said the incident was the sixth case in three months.
The road,which is part of the Mombasa-Nairobi highway, had speed bumps but they were removed when construction of the flyover began mid-last year.
Residents say it is taking too long and they fear many people could get killed.
“So far, we have not received any report of deaths but those who have been knocked down have serious injuries. Others are maimed,” Shipeta said.
“The government needs to put pressure on the contractor to complete the construction of the flyover sooner rather than later."
In 2016, then Mombasa Senator Hassan Omar led Bangladesh residents in protesting against the rising number of accidents on that section of the road.
The Kenya National Highways Authority officers visited the scene and installed speed bumps.

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