Voices From Asphalt

By Alphonce Otieno

Every morning, the roads of Kenya come alive with honking horns, rushing footsteps and the distant wail of sirens. Beneath the buzz of traffic lies a darker, quieter truth: the suffering of those whose lives are ended by what happens on the asphalt.

They are pedestrians knocked down while crossing unmarked roads, children flung from motorcycle taxis during sudden collisions, passengers trapped in overturned matatus, their journeys cut short by careless drivers or potholes. These are the voices from the asphalt which are not always heard, but deeply felt.

Across the country, thousands of lives are affected by road crashes every year. For instance, 3,581 people lost their lives on road accidents in the 2024/2025 financial year according to statistics from the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA). The report reveals a 10% increase in fatalities compared to the 2023/2024 period. Nairobi emerges the deadliest region in 2025 having recorded 138 deaths in the first three months. But numbers don’t cry out. It’s the survivors who do from hospital beds, roadside memorials, or silent mourning at home.

The causes are many and layered. Reckless driving remains a constant threat, with vehicles speeding through estates, overtaking blindly on highways, or ignoring traffic lights altogether. But the drivers are not the only cause of danger. Many roads are poorly maintained, riddled with potholes and missing signs, making even the most careful journey unpredictable.

Corruption makes it worse. Drivers who should be held accountable often go free after slipping a bribe into a traffic officer’s hand. The result? A system where the law is negotiable and the

cost is paid in blood.

These tragedies don’t choose time or place. They strike in rush hours, on dusty rural roads, in the early morning or under the cover of night. Behind each one is a story: a child who never made it to school, a breadwinner who never returned home, a family thrown into poverty after hospital bills drain their savings.

Yet, amid the chaos, there is silence. The victims rarely make the news beyond brief headlines. Their pain is muffled by the roar of engines and the indifference of a system that has failed them.

Change has been promised before that there will be better enforcement, improved roads, stricter laws. But if corruption thrives and road safety is treated as an afterthought, Kenya’s roads will remain unsafe.

The asphalt holds their stories, but it is up to us to listen. Until then, the cries will continue, not from voices raised, but from lives broken.