The death of Dr Wahome Gakuru (Nyeri 2^nd governor elect) has elicited diverse talk – mostly on social media. “Dagitari Wahome wa Gakuru” as many fondly called him died in a grisly road accident in the early hours of Tuesday November 7. It is not in my purview to delve into the details surrounding the accident including eye witness accounts.

Dr. Wahome was a member of the prestigious Harvard Business School Institute of Competitiveness and Strategy and will be remembered for the critical role in formulating Kenya’s Vision 2030.

This is a great loss to the people of the county of Nyeri. Kenya has lost a gem. I join the multitudes to pass my condolences to his friends and family. May God’s grace abound.

I choose to focus on one dimension of this story. What could be going on in the minds of his 3 sons – one of whom is sitting his high school certificate exams at the prestigious Alliance High School? Did dad have to die that soon on the roads in line of duty?

There are, and there will be many questions relating to this death. Some conspiracy theories will come to roost. If what the preliminary report says is anything to go by – that the accident was caused by a tire burst; a speeding lorry behind the Governor’s limo; a busy highway causing driver to swerve right into guard rials that tore into the belly of the car – then it leaves me thinking, “what can we do different to guarantee the safety and security of VIPs on the move?

1. Legislation – after forensic investigations are complete, we will know if there were any structural pitfalls in the manner in which the guard rails were constructed. A guardrail is a safety barrier intended to shield a motorist who has left the roadway. Guardrails can make roads safer and lessen the severity of crashes. By the end of this investigation, I am looking forward to see what the National Transport and Safety Authority will do to ensure compliance by road contractors when erecting road hardware and furniture.

2. Policy – enforcement of a dusk to dawn curfew for VIPs; having super skilled drivers with defensive driving skills with some minimum/maximum age limits with a given experience handling VIPs.

3. Standards – in a bid to embrace posterity measures geared at managing the burden of services for public servants, there was introduction of standards around the capacity and cost of cars. However, I submit that, at the very least, such cars should be armored and fitted with self-supporting run (SSR) tires that would survive tire bursts or explosions among some key security features.

I am optimistic that we will not live to witness another gory incident before we wake up to do something.