NAIVASHA, KENYA: A Naivasha farmer is counting losses running into thousand of shillings after a lorry killed his 56 goats and sheep in a road accident.
The accident along the Naivasha- Mai Mahiu road affected the flow of traffic as the owner and other pastoralists tried to come to terms with the accident.
The carcasses were removed from the highway as tens of members of the public eager to get slice of the free meat arrived at the scene.
A 15 year-old boy who was herding the livestock was also injured on his hand and head.
Incidentally, 28 sheep were crushed and killed by a trailer near the scene two months ago as they were crossing from one side of the road to the other.
According to a witness John Ole Parasupula, the animals were heading to a nearby dam for water when the speeding trailer ran over them.
The herder said that due to the harsh weather conditions the animals had been moving from one area to the other in search of pasture.
"The animals were crossing the road when the speeding lorry ran over them and fled leaving 56 of them dead," he said.
The emotional pastoralist expressed his concern over the losses that the community was undergoing along the busy road.
"This is not the first time that our livestock have been killed by speeding trucks and we are calling on the government to erect speed bumps along this section of the road," he said.
Speaking in pain the injured boy said that the accident happened very fast as the lorry which was going downhill was in very high speed.
"Some of the goats were thrown on my face injuring me while others were run over the speeding trailer," he said in Maasai.
At the scene members of the public some armed with knives and paper bags waited patiently to have a share of the meat.