VIHIGA, April 25, 2025 – The Vihiga High Court has awarded Kshs. 928,285 to the family of Wesly Kirwa, a bodaboda cyclist killed in a 2019 collision with a vehicle owned by the African Divine Church Boyani Headquarters, finding the church and its driver largely liable. Justice Jacqueline Kamau’s April 24, 2025, judgment reduced a magistrate’s Kshs. 2,420,920 award but upheld compensation for the family’s loss.
Margaret Jepkemboi Martim, representing Kirwa’s estate, sued the church and driver John Saiya after Kirwa, 27, died in a crash on September 4, 2019, along the Kisumu-Kakamega Highway. Martim alleged that Saiya, driving the church’s vehicle (KBY 782X), veered into Kirwa’s lane at Gamarega Junction, causing a head-on collision. A magistrate’s court in 2023 awarded Martim Kshs. 2,420,920, including Kshs. 1,927,800 for loss of dependency. The church and Saiya appealed, arguing Kirwa’s speeding caused the crash.
Justice Kamau found the church’s driver primarily at fault, stating, “It was evident that DW 1 turned right suddenly and recklessly without prior indication or signal endangering other road users who included the deceased.” However, she noted Kirwa’s high speed contributed, holding, “The fact that he hit the Appellants’ subject Motor Vehicle on the left side and sustained fatal injuries was evidence of the high speed that he may have been riding.” The court apportioned liability 85% to the church and 15% to Kirwa.
The court recalculated damages, reducing the income basis from Kshs. 13,770 monthly (plant operator’s wage) to Kshs. 10,000, as Kirwa was a boda boda rider, and the multiplier from 35 to 22 years, citing his age. Justice Kamau also trimmed special damages to Kshs. 82,100 for essentials like the coffin and hearse, noting, “The burden of how the family of a deceased chose to mourn a deceased could not be transferred to the person who caused his or her death.”
The final award included Kshs. 880,000 for loss of dependency, Kshs. 100,000 for loss of expectation of life, Kshs. 30,000 for pain and suffering, and Kshs. 82,100 in special damages, less 15% contribution, totaling Kshs. 928,285, plus interest and costs.
By Robert Amalemba
Contact: robertamalemba@gmail.com