Mombasa Road Accidents : Petitioning Nairobi City Council

Have you ever lost a friend ,relative ,colleague ,workmate on Mombasa Road ?(i know i have) Then the following petition should have a personal appeal to you.Kindly sign up and tweet on the petition Construct 5 pedestrian footbridges on Mombasa Road , .The petition can be found at GoPetition.Com

The petition reads:

Background (Preamble):

The sections of Mombasa Road between Capital Centre and Parkside Towers (Zain), and between General Motors and the Nakumatt Embakasi junction have consumed the lives of many pedestrians over the years. While authorities have put up signs asking motorists to slow down, the carnage continues unabated.

With every death on this road is a family left behind mourning in pain, dreams and aspirations suddenly brought to a brutal end, and a bright, promising future destroyed.

Petition:

We, the undersigned, petition the City Council of Nairobi to construct 5 pedestrian footbridges at the following locations along Mombasa Road: Oil Libya in South C, Parkside Towers, General Motors, the Imara Daima junction and the Nakumatt Embakasi Junction.

Because footbridges with solid concrete slabs on the sides many times provide hide-outs for street families, posing a security challenge for pedestrians and discouraging their use, we petition that these new footbridges have metal grills on the sides so that the goings-on on the footbridges can be visible to all.

For the same reason, we ask that no advertising billboards be erected on the sides of these footbridges to obscure them from the public. Finally, we petition that these footbridges be well-lit at night for ease of use by pedestrians even in darkness.

Kindly sign up and spread the word, blog, tweet ,share. like on Facebook etc so that we can get the critical mass to effect change. Seeing accidents day in and day out and doing nothing about it will not change anything.We must hold the public authorities tasked with our safety accountable and demand they accomplish their mandate after all we do pay taxes .

Amnesty Internationals Challenge To Obama

Honeymoon is about to end for America's Presidential Elect Barack Obama-with his inaguration on January 20, 2009 the world's eyes will start to focus on his delivery of campaign promises, key being the revamping of the American economy and revitalising America's foreign policy and relations. Amnesty International however has began an Obama 100 days campaign to get him to move the American legislature to disband the infamous Guantanamo prison for detainees in the "war against terror" campaign.Amnesty interntaional 100 days campaign hopes to get President Obama to disclose and announce " a plan and date to close Guantánamo; ban torture and other ill-treatment as defined under international law; and ensure that an independent commission on US “war on terror abuses is set up."

These demands are part of a Counter Terror with Justice “checklist” of actions Amnesty International is asking Obama to take in his first 100 days in office."- according to their website and they are inviting you to share in this campaign by signing a petition!

On another front Amnesty international is begining an African campaign to lobby USA President Obama to support the Respect and Enforcement of Human Rights in Africa and they are getting African bloggers to participate. I am scheduled to meet one of Amnesty Internationals staff from U.K for her to shade more light on the campaign. I will publish the interview in in good time! Im sure the interview will be a learning experience but i hope to lobby more African bloggers to get Amnesty International to develop a steady presence in Africa. For now i can only see a South African Office but i stand to be corrected.I hope that a local Kenyan office or secretariat will soon follow!

There's also an opportunity for readers of this blog to receive freebies including blog badges, t-shirts etc in support of the campaign...details to follow shortly !For now everyone can participate by signing the petition at http://obama100days.amnesty.org/petition.html
So keep it locked here!