'Unfortunate meal'
Some students I mentor from a college in the coastal region of Mombasa told me how they recently went on a trip to central Kenya, a distance of about 700km (435 miles). Before leaving Mombasa, they had a meal, which unfortunately upset their stomachs. "With no toilets along the way, our bus driver was forced to make several stops near bushes and forests for us to attend to the upheavals in our tummies," explained one of the students. "It was the most uncomfortable 10-hour journey I'd ever had". Lots of new roads have been built in Kenya, now toilets will have to be added too But now help has come through the actions of one man who went to court to compel the government to bring an end to this kind of suffering. Adrian Kamotho Njenga sued four public entities arguing they had breached the constitution by failing to provide free toilet facilities along public highways. The four bodies - the Council of Governors, which brings together the governors of all 47 counties, the Kenya National Highways Authority, the Kenya Rural Roads Authority and the Kenya Urban Roads Authority - all rejected the accusation and turned to a blame game. Some said Mr Njenga had not shown details of how exactly they had violated the constitution regarding public toilets. Others argued that they do not have a constitutional mandate to provide sanitation services. But like an impatient man pressed by the call of nature, Mr Njenga continued to push for a solution from the court. He argued that as a result of the failures of the public entities, road users on public highways had no way of disposing of human waste flowing from human biological functions, and end up relieving themselves in bushes and on the roadside, which is inhuman and degrading.No toilets = torture
He even quoted from the Bible's fifth book, Deuteronomy, in which Moses commands the Israelites who were travelling to the promised land, to designate a place outside their camp where they could go to relieve themselves. And just in case the court was not persuaded to rely on the Bible as an authority in determining a constitutional matter, Mr Njenga explained the lack of toilets was subjecting commuters to suffer "immense biological, metabolical and physiological torture, when faced with a call of nature while travelling on Kenyan roads". Now these are words I don't think about when answering the call of nature, myself. But they sound quite serious, and in the end the judge agreed with Mr Njenga, and instructed the authorities concerned to create and implement a policy for the provision of toilets and other sanitation facilities along the Kenyan road network. So, we're all looking forward to the day when as commuters, we'll stop hopping about in the bushes to avoid stepping on human mess in the search for a clear spot, to bring relief to our bodies. For now, in the absence of the "constitutional" toilets, the beautiful wildlife that can be seen near the roads from Nairobi to Kisumu in the west, or to Mombasa at the coast, will continue to witness some ugly scenes as humans invade their space to dispose of their waste.DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
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