BY SAM ALFAN.
Kenya National Highways Authority (KenHA) has been ordered to pay veteran lawyer Ahmednassir Abdullahi over Sh700,000 for the damage of the windscreen of his luxurious car.
Kajiado magistrate Edwin Mulochi ordered KenHA to pay Senior Counsel Ahmednassir Sh750,311 for damaging the windscreen of his high-head Bentley Bentyaga.
“I consequently find that the accident or damage in question did occur on the Nairobi-Namanga highway and the plaintiff has proved on a balance of probabilities that he travelled to Tanzania and back on the said dates,” the magistrate ruled.
The magistrate found Ahmednassir proved KenHA breached the duty of care owed to him and other road users and were liable. The car was hit by stone shrapnel, while workers contracted by the agency were re-carpeting the highway in 2018.
The judge did not award the senior lawyer damages over the sustained injuries since he did not adduce evidence to prove he was injured.
Ahmednasir said he was travelling to Aruasha-Tanzania on August 25,2018 with his children. On his way back on August 30, KenHA contractor was re-carpeting the highway and as a result his car’s windscreen was damaged by the stones particles emanating from the work.
He accused the agency of negligence because they should have put up signs warning motorists or diverted the traffic.
Ahmednassir said the damage occasioned him great loss and KeNHA agents were grossly negligent and reckless in failing to close the road to members of public while carrying out the works, so as to save off accidents.
He told the court that KeNHA failure to erect proper sign boards along the highway indicating the road works amounted to reckless and owed him and other road users a duty of care which it breached occasioning him damages and windscreen of his Bentley Bentyaga car.
KeNHA denied the claim liability and said he did not report to the police. The agency also claimed that the accident could have happened in Tanzania but the magistrate dismissed the assertion saying it was not a requirement for him to report to the police.
