Some of the wreckage of the vehicles involved in an accident on Limuru road, Kiambu County, on July 3, 2016. PHOTO | NGARE KARIUKI | NATION MEDIA GROUP
Imagine a 14-seater matatu crashing and killing every passenger on board.
Now, imagine that kind of tragedy happening every week for one month.
It sound outrageous but that is the grim reality of road carnage along the Nairobi-Nakuru-Eldoret highway this year.
In just the first three months, at least 50 people have died in a series of accidents between Rironi near Limuru and Mau Summit, turning one of the country's busiest roads into a tarmacked graveyard.
This death toll has risen from 30 lives lost on the same highway last year.
The highway, a crucial transport corridor connecting Nairobi to western Kenya and further to Uganda, South Sudan, Rwanda and Burundi is now infamous for its rising death toll.
The highway is currently awaiting a Sh160 billion upgrade a project that s long overdue and as bureaucratic delays drag on, the road continues to claim lives almost daily.
Eight people died when a police truck (left) collided with a matatu at Ngarariga in Limuru town on November 8, 2012. Photo/ANNE MACHARIA
Of all its dangerous sections, the stretch between Rironi and Limuru to Naivasha has emerged as the most lethal claiming nearly 30 lives in just three months.
In the latest tragedy, three people died on Monday at
when a 14 seater matatu heading to Nairobi collided with a lorry. Nine others sustained serious injuries.
That crash brought the toll to 15 deaths in under two weeks along the same stretch.
Last Friday, seven people perished when a matatu lost control at Kamandura Junction. The vehicle, traveling from Nairobi to Kijabe town veered off-road and plunged down a steep slope. Five passengers died instantly.
Limuru police boss Mary Gachie confirmed the vehicle belonged to Kijabeline Sacco saying two more succumbed in hospital and only four survivors al in critical condition remain at Tigoni Hospital.
The crash site was barely a kilometre from another deadly accident a day earlier in which a private vehicle suffered a tyre burst and crashed killing three people on the spot. Two more later died in hospital.
Residents say the main causes of accidents along the section of the Nairobi-Naivasha-Nakuru highway are careless driving ,overtaking and speeding.
“Almost all the accidents are caused by human error; careless driving including speeding and overtaking. We plead with the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) to install speed bumps in the area as a temporary measure as the road awaits upgrade,”Mr Daniel Mbuthia a first responder to accidents,told the Nation.
The scene of an accident at Twin Bridge area on the Eldoret- Nakuru highway that involved a number of vehicles on August 24, 2024.
But this is not the only section of the Northern Corridor where lives hace been lost.
According to statistics from the Naivasha -based Road Traffic (RTA) department, 10 pedestrians have been killed in hit and run accidents in Ihindu, Raini, Kinungi, Karai and other areas along the Nairobi-Naivasha-Nakuru highway in the past three months.
On March 14, 13 people died in a grisly road accident in Migaa area along the Nakuru -Eldoret highway after a truck hit a matatu.
The truck driver reportedly,lost control of the vehicle due to brake failure , ramming into the rear of the 11-seater matatu.
Molo Sub-County Police Commander Timon Odingo revealed that all the passengers in the matatu along with the truck driver and conductor died on the spot.
Other notorious blackspots along the highway have become notorious are Kinungi,St Marys,Ngata ,Salgaa and Sachangwan Mau Summit,as well as Jolly Farm and Mukinyai areas, on the Nakuru-Eldoret highway.
Others include Ihindu,Raini, Mithuri, Kikopey, Mbaruk, Gigil,St Marys,Sosysambu and Weighbridge on the Nairobi- Nakuru section of the highway.
Engineer John Ngugi says the design of the highway itself contributes to its danger.
The scene of an accident at Twin Bridge area on the Eldoret- Nakuru highway that involved a number of vehicles on August 24, 2024.
“Reckless driving including dangerous overtaking and also design flaws are to also to blame for frequent accidents along the route. Also road signs along sections of the busy highway have been vandalised, making it difficult for motorists to observe traffic rules,”Mr Ngugi told the Nation.
“The much awaited upgrade of the key road is long overdue. Once the road is upgraded into about six lanes, accidents will significantly be reduced. Lane discipline will reduce the accidents we are witnessing currently,” he added.
But despite the existence of road signs in other sections of the highway,warning of the dangers of speeding at sections of the busy road considered as black spots, most drivers still speed without seeming to care.
Not even the many accidents that have claimed lives along the road deter motorists.
Even where warning signs remain, drivers simply ignore them.
For instance, in last Friday's Kamandura junction accident; police say the 14-seater matatu was speeding, before the grisly road crash occurred.
“The matatu was speeding before the driver lost control and veered off the road. The loss of lives could have been avoided were it that the matatu was not speeding,” a senior police officer told the Nation.
The vehicle plunged into a steep slope and rolled several times,claiming seven lives.
“I was running an errand near the main highway, when I spotted a matatu approaching at high speed. The driver was hooting, signaling danger,” Mr George Kuria who was at the scene recounted.
Shockingly, most of the fatal crashes along the Nairobi-Nakuru-Mau Summit highway occur at night and mostly over the weekends.
“Most of the road crashes in particular black spots occur at night and others over the weekends. The road crashes are blamed on fatigue and speeding along the section of the busy road. The stretch has become notorious, especially for motorists unfamiliar with the route,”David Kimani, a resident of Kinungi, told the Nation.
Ngata headache
The Ngata-Sobea-Salgaa stretch has also become a headache to residents and motorists
Here at least three pedestrians have been killed by speeding vehicles using the road,in the past two months alone.
Head-on collisions and hit-and-run incidents,along the stretch, blamed on careless driving have claimed several lives.
‘The landscape between Ngata-Sobea and Salgaa stretch is relatively flat. This kind of terrain has been noted to give road users an easy time in driving as the road is flat and straight, making it a possibility to lose concentration as one drives. Majority of the drivers using this road are culprits of speeding and overtaking,”said Charles Ombati, a first responder, at crash scenes along the route.
“Most of the accidents occur at night and are due to human error; speeding and overtaking. Motorists using the route must be cautious enough to save lives,”he added.
The series of accidents along the stretch have prompted the government to initiate construction of a concrete barrier, termed a "Jersey barrier" to tame the accidents.
The wreckage of the Coast Bus that was involved in the accident at Migaa blackspot along the Nakuru - Eldoret highway on August 20, 2024.
“The section of the busy highway has been a death trap. We are looking for a solution even as plans to dual the Rironi-Nakuru-Mau Summit get underway.It has become increasingly urgent,to tame the frequent accidents,” revealed Nakuru County Commissoner Loyford Kibaara.
A spot check by the Nation revealed that the Kenya National Highways Authority (Kenha) has embarked on the construction of the barriers along the stretch.
Kenha has already started constructing the 5- kilometers concrete barrier along the stretch.
Already, Kenha officials and engineers on the ground to construct the barrier that will cost an excess of Sh 2million.
The highway, a key artery from Nairobi to western Kenya, awaits expansion into a six-lane dual carriageway through a Public-Private Partnership model.
Planned upgrade
According to John Langat, another first responder to accidents that happen along the Ngata-Sobea-Salgaa stretch, upgrading the highway is the solution to the accidents that have been claiming lives along the busy road.
“We have lost too many lives along the highway.The planned upgrade of the Rironi-Mau Summit highway will greatly reduce the number of accidents along the Northern corridor,”he said.
“The government should make it a priority to save lives,”added Mr Langat.
Other accidents include one on March 30,in which two Nakuru brothers-David Mwangi and Paul Mwangi perished in a road crash, when the vehicle they were traveling in was involved in a three-car collision at Gilgil along the Nairobi -Nakuru highway.
The two brothers were heading to Naivasha when the fatal accident occurred.
David and Paul, the first and last born in the family respectively, and two farm workers were travelling together in a Toyota Prado ,when their journey was abruptly cut short.
Police said the driver of the trailer was attempting to overtake other vehicles when he collided with the Toyota Prado.
One of the containers the trailer was carrying fell onto the Prado , killing the two brothers instantly.
The two farm workers survived the accident with injuries.
On March 9, one person was killed on the spot and two others injured in an accident at Kinungi area along the Nairobi -Naivasha highway.
On March 1, two people lost their lives and twelve others were left nursing injuries following a road highway.
The accident involved a lorry and two personal cars.
