72 hours of road carnage: Will this ever stop?
Transport stakeholders say most accidents are caused by recklessness, speeding, overloading and the use of unroadworthy vehicles.
The busy Nairobi-Nakuru-Eldoret highway, which is awaiting a Sh160 billion upgrade, has once again turned into a death trap, claiming at least 35 lives in just one month.
The vital highway, which links the capital Nairobi to western Kenya and further to the landlocked countries of Uganda, South Sudan, Rwanda and Burundi, is a nightmare for motorists.
Transport stakeholders say most accidents are caused by recklessness, speeding, overloading and the use of unroadworthy vehicles.
In the past three days, 22 people have been killed in road accidents across the country, the most recent being yesterday’s crash at the notorious Delamare black spot, which claimed six lives.
The crash brings to 10 the number of people who have died on the Nairobi-Nakuru-Eldoret highway alone.
In yesterday’s incident, a trip home for 11 Nairobi-bound students ended tragically after a matatu they were travelling in collided with a trailer.
Six others, including the driver, escaped with injuries and were rushed to Naivasha Sub-county Hospital for treatment.
Government's concern
President William Ruto’s administration yesterday condoled with the grieving parents as it expressed concern over the continued rise in road deaths in the country.
"Cabinet has ... directed the Ministry of Home Affairs and National Administration in collaboration with the Ministry of Roads and Transport to take remedial action," reads part of the message from the Cabinet Office. It stressed the need to enforce the Road Traffic Act in a manner that enhances road safety, especially during the long rainy season.
At the Naivasha Sub-county Hospital, medics rushed against time to save the injured, while parents made frantic phone calls to enquire about the condition of their children.
A student at the casualty ward could not recall exactly what happened, only saying that she saw the vehicle veer off the road.
Governor Andrew Mwadime visits accident survivors at the Moi County Referral Hospital in Voi, Taita Taveta County on April 16, 2023.
An eyewitness said he was walking near the scene when he heard a loud bang followed by screams.
"It was a heartbreaking scenario. People near the scene rushed to help the injured. Some had died on the spot," said the witness, who preferred anonymity.
He said the matatu landed in the ditch after colliding with the truck.
Naivasha Sub-county Police Commander Benjamin Boen said the matatu driver was trying to overtake a fleet of vehicles when the accident occurred.
"The matatu driver did not follow traffic rules when overtaking, which led to the fatal accident as he overtook on a continuous yellow line," he explained. He said the five died on impact, while six other students sustained injuries.
"The driver of the truck escaped unhurt in the accident that occurred at 1.45 pm," Mr Boen added.
Nakuru County Education Director Victoria Mulili told Nation the students were picked up outside their school gate at Mbihi Friends Girls High School in Vihiga County.
She said they were all travelling to Nairobi, hence their decision to board the same vehicle.
The hospital’s management, the official went on to say, was making arrangements to take the injured to Kenyatta National Hospital for specialised treatment.
"I have been in touch with our colleagues in Nairobi to make their transfer a smooth process," she said.
The medical superintendent in charge of the health facility, Dr Bernard Warui, said seven people, including the driver, were taken to the hospital for treatment.
"Two of them had serious injuries while the other five were responding well to treatment," he said.
Dr Warui said he was able to quickly mobilise a team to attend to the injured following hard lessons learnt from the Pwani University bus crash on the same stretch 19 days ago.
Crisis team
"We now have an active crisis team on standby to respond to any emergency. They were able to respond in time," the doctor said.
The Naivasha accident came barely 24 hours after another accident at the Jogoo area near Mau Summit along the Nakuru-Eldoret highway claimed four lives on Monday night. A Tahmeed Bus Company vehicle veered off the road, hit a student and overturned, landing in a ditch.
Kuresoi North Sub-county Police Commander Judah Gathenge revealed that the bus was travelling from Eldoret to Nakuru when "the driver lost control and veered off the road before landing in a ditch”.
Overwhelmed relatives of accident victims outside the morgue at Migori Referral Hospital in Migori town on April 8, 2023. Eight people died and another eight were injured when a driver of a lorry lost control after the vehicle brake failed to ram into three other vehicles and a motorcycle operator's shed.
"The bus hit a secondary school student who was heading home ... three passengers also lost their lives," he said, adding that 25 people are receiving treatment for various injuries at Molo Sub-county Hospital.
The facility’s medical superintendent, Dr Susan Wanjiku, told Nation yesterday that 17 people are still receiving treatment at the hospital while two of the patients have been transferred to Nakuru Level Five Hospital for specialised treatment.
An eyewitness said the driver of the bus, who escaped with minor injuries, was avoiding a collision with a truck travelling in the opposite direction when he lost control and hit a student who was walking home from school before landing in a ditch.
Yesterday, Nation learnt that the schoolgirl who died in the accident was a Form Four student at Koige Secondary School in Kuresoi North.
Her mother, Mary Njeri, who is still coming to terms with the death of her first-born daughter, said she received the tragic news from a neighbour. Ms Njeri, who runs a salon in the Jogoo area, said the neighbour asked her to rush to the scene to confirm if her daughter was among the victims.
"I was shocked to learn that my daughter had died in the accident. I have lost my favourite child. I am heartbroken but I leave everything to God," said a tearful Ms Njeri.
According to Ms Njeri, her daughter left behind a 16-month-old baby, whom she gave birth to while in Form Two and later returned to school to complete her studies.
Newly posted Naivasha sub-county police commander Benjamin Boen inspects the matatu that collided with a trailer at Delamare along the Naivasha-Nakuru highway on April 18, 2023. Five students died on the spot.
In Murang’a County, two people died yesterday afternoon in a road accident that left five others in critical condition. The accident occurred at Small Earth area on the Kenol-Murang'a highway near Maragua town.
Maragua Assistant County Commissioner Joshua Okello said the accident involved a matatu that was heading to Murang'a town and a lorry heading towards Kenol.
"The two collided head-on and two people died on the spot. The injured were rushed to Murang'a Level Five Hospital and others were referred to Kenyatta National Hospital for specialised treatment," he said.
In Taita-Taveta County, 10 mourners were killed on Saturday night after the bus they were travelling in rolled at the Josa area on the Wundanyi-Mwatate highway.
Mwatate Sub-county Police Commander Morris Okul said there was need to erect a high wall to prevent vehicles from plunging into the dangerous ditch.
The area has claimed many lives. Last November, four people died instantly after a bus belonging to Memon Secondary School rolled at the blackspot. The bus was also ferrying mourners who were returning from a funeral in Ngerenyi in Wundanyi to Mombasa.
Reporting by Mercy Koskei, Macharia Mwangi, Lucy Mkanyika and Mwangi Muiruri
