On an ordinary day, the Manyani, Maungu and Mackinnon stretches on the Nairobi-Mombasa highway in Taita-Taveta County are usually bustling with activity.
But these three areas have continued to gain national notoriety, thanks to their reputation as accident black spots.
In the past week, 12 people have died in grisly road accidents in these spots, with authorities blaming speeding, careless overtaking and driving with the gear in neutral.
In the latest accident on Christmas Day, six people died at Mackinnon Road when two cars collided head-on.
Police said two other people were seriously injured and taken to Moi County Referral Hospital in Voi for treatment.
According to Kinango police boss Fredrick Ombaka, the driver of a BMW car that was heading to Mombasa from Nairobi tried to overtake a vehicle that was ahead but collided head-on with a Subaru Legacy.
The Subaru, which had six occupants veered off the road killing four people on the spot.
Among those killed were the driver, a woman and two children.
"The two occupants of the BMW were burnt beyond recognition. The bodies have been taken to Moi Hospital for identification and postmortem," he said.
"We are calling on our drivers to be careful while on our roads. We know some of these accidents can be avoided if only we become more careful," he said.
Earlier on Friday, two people died in an accident at Maungu. The accident, involving a Toyota Vitz and a truck, also left two people critically injured.
Voi Sub-County Police Commander Bernastein Shari said the vehicles collided head-on when the car, which was being driven towards Nairobi, swerved to avoid hitting a vehicle ahead of it, but the driver lost control and the car collided with an oncoming truck in the opposite lane.
The wreckage of the bus that collided head on with a truck at Manyani, Voi September 17, 2011 killing twelve passengers.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
Survivors were rushed to the Moi County Referral Hospital in Voi where they are receiving treatment.
"The driver of the truck did not suffer any injuries. However, the two occupants of the other vehicle were seriously injured," he said.
He said police have launched investigations into the incident and caut¬ioned other motorists to be extra cautious when approaching the Maungu-Manyani stretch where accidents have been reported to be on the increase.
"Cases of road accidents have been on the increase in the last one week. I urge motorists to be very careful because we are receiving accident reports every day," Mr Shari said.
Two days before that, four people died and 20 others were seriously injured in an accident at Manyani after a Dreamline bus collided head-on with a truck.
Drivers of the two vehicles, the turn boy of the lorry and a female passenger died.
Mr Shari said the bus heading to Mombasa from Busia was overtaking a truck when the accident occurred.
"The driver of the bus tried to overtake the truck ahead of him but could not manage the distance hence causing the accident. The four died on the spot," he said.
The Moi Hospital superintendent, Dr Felix Kimotho, said the number of accidents had increased in the holiday season.
"The hotspots are between Manyani and Maungu," he said.
"Sometimes, we have to recall our medics who are on leave to help in the casualty area, X-ray and CT scan department … Motorists should be careful," he added.
"They should stop being reckless and over speeding," he said.
