Road traffic accidents continue to be the bane of Kenyans with most of those hospitalized suffering inability to pay hospital bills.
A recent report of the National Council on the Administration of Justice (NCAJ) 2025/26 has revealed that traffic accidents are costing the economy over Sh48.5 billion annually on treating road traffic injuries.
When presenting the NCAJ report, Chief Justice Martha Koome indicated that according to the study, “the cost of treating a victim of road traffic accidents stand at about KSh69,000 for moderate injuries and KSh147,000 for severe injuries, with hospital admissions ranging between 10 and 24 days depending on the extent of injury.”
For Dina Nafula Simiyu, St Luke’s Orthopaedic and Trauma Hospital in Eldoret, continues to be her adopted home following a grisly accident on August 24th 2025. Her mother Pauline Nabangala Mukholi recalls the day as if it only happened yesterday.
It was an early morning when according to Nabangala, her husband Lawrence Simiyu and daughter Dina left to book a vehicle as Dina embarked on journey from Chekalini in Lugari Sub County of Kakamega County to Embu University in Embu County, where she had been admitted to study a Bachelor of Laws degree, a course she had chosen right at joining Butere Girls National School in Kakamega County.
But as fate would have it, her joy of joining the University to study the course of her dreams came to a screeching halt when out of the blues, a vehicle just appeared and ploughed through crowd of people standing besides the road, among the victims was Dina and her father. “I ran to Chekalini market, after receiving the call, to my surprise my husband had been injured and my daughter was worse off,” said Pauline Nabangala, “the vehicle hit my daughter and trapped her beneath its belly, dragging her for over 40 meters.”
By the time Dina was lifted from where the vehicle stopped, she had head injuries and on taking her for first aid, it was discovered that she also had an injury to the spinal cord, this had her transferred to St Luke’s Orthopeadic and Trauma Hospital in Eldoret.
Her hospitalization saw the hospital bill shoot to “Kshs 1.9 million, we conducted fundraisings as well a little payment from the Social Health Authority(SHA) which reduced the bill by Kshs 900,000,” said Nabangala when KBC Channel 1 interviewed her as she took care of her daughter in hospital. To date the bill now stands at over Kshs 1 million and counting.
Former Chairperson of Butere Girls Alumni Association Prof. Selpher Cheloti says as a student under the Alumni Scholarship, Dina was brilliant girl, very focused, very intentional and she clearly told us she wanted to be a lawyer, “when we took her as Alumni Association, she was put into the mentorship group of the lawyers, magistrates and judges, said the former Chairperson of the Butere Girls Alumni Association Prof. Selpher Cheloti, and adds, “When she scored an A- and was admitted to Embu University to study a course of her dreams, we were very happy.”
Dina’s mother Pauline Nabangala is appealing to well-wishers to intervene and bail out her daughter so that she can seek specialized treatment, “since October 1st last year the hospital discontinued treatment for the injuries from the accident,” said Nabangala, the only thing they do is to help with infections that Dina gets as we stay in hospital, I was hoping if I can be assisted, to pay the bill so that my daughter can seek treatment elsewhere.”
The former Chairperson of the Butere Girls Alumni Association Prof. Selpher Cheloti is urging Kenyans to come on board and help to raise funds that will enable Dina to get back on feet, “so that Dina can continue with her dream of becoming a lawyer when she completes her studies.”
