The National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) has proposed that those found drunk-driving be sent to work as mortuary attendants as punishment.
According to director general Francis Meja, drunk drivers usually get off easy when arraigned in court and this proposed policy would likely deter most of them.
“We cannot have notorious drunk drivers causing accidents yet when they appear in court the penalty is very lenient. Once we have the new policy ready then we shall ensure it becomes law,” he is quoted as saying
Reacting to the reports, Ezra Olack, chairman of the National Funeral Services Association of Kenya, said the reports of this kind of punishment must have been a joke.
He asked the NTSA to stop demeaning the profession of a mortician saying that the work they do is very important.
“We are not going to allow people to come and ruin our profession. The person who said that must have been joking. But if he was not joking, those who will be told to work in funeral homes can sue him,” Olak said.
NTSA’s data shows 2,496 people died between January and November 19, many being pedestrians who numbered 941.
He said that morticians are often stigmatized for the work they do yet it is a profession like any other.
“People think mortuary attendants are rejects and drug addicts. People go to school and learn how to take care of dead bodies,” Olack said.
He added that the NTSA should consider increasing fines as a more sensible way of deterring drunk driving instead of subjecting people to the job against their will.
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