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Outrage over sharp rise in road carnage

Outrage over sharp rise in road carnage
The scene of an accident which occurred at the Kuja bridge on the Migori-Rongo Road yesterday. PHOTO/Print

Kenya was yesterday reeling from a sudden surge in road accidents that has left 30 people dead and hundreds nursing injuries in various hospitals over the past four days.


Latest in this worrying trend occurred on Monday evening when at least 13 people perished in two separate accidents in Maungu, Taita Taveta County and Rongo, Migori County.


Preliminary investigations point to driver fault in the Taita-Taveta accident that claimed the lives of 11 Kenyatta University students.


Eight critically injured students from the Maungu accident on the Nairobi-Mombasa highway were on Tuesday airlifted to Nairobi for further medical attention.


The bus was carrying 54 students on an academic trip to Malindi.
One of the survivors, Felix Onyango, said the driver of the bus was overtaking a fleet of vehicles during a heavy downpour when the accident occurred at about 7pm.


He said the bus driver tried to return to his lane, but an oncoming truck hit the vehicle from the side.
“We did not have any mechanical problems before the incident,” he said.
On Monday, five people were killed in a road accident on Olonguruone-Silibwet road in Bomet.

Police said the matatu driver heading towards Bomet veered off his lane before ramming a tractor.
Yesterday, two people died in an accident that took place at Kuja Bridge on Migori-Rongo highway.


Police added that three passengers were injured and that the matatu was headed to Kisumu
Over the weekend, a teacher and a student of Kapsabet High School lost their lives after one of the buses was involved in an accident during a trip.


More than 20 other students suffered serious injuries and were rushed to the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH), Eldoret, from Baringo County Referral Hospital in Kabarnet for specialised treatment following an accident which claimed the life of a teacher and a student.


The accident occurred at Patkwanin area on Kabarnet-Marigat road on Saturday afternoon when the driver lost control of the bus and swerved off the road.


The more than 60 students and two teachers were headed for an academic trip to Lake Bogoria in Baringo county.


Acting MTRH Chief Executive Officer Phillip Kirwa confirmed that 18 students had been referred to the facility by Saturday night.


“Among the injured, five required surgeries in theatre for procedures including stitching, debridement of major wounds, tendon repairs and fixing of bone fractures,” said Dr Kirwa while briefing the press at the school.

MTRH responded promptly to emergency and liaised with their counterparts in Baringo County by dispatching a team comprising specialist doctors, medical officers, nurses, plaster technicians and various surgical and medical supplies to provide comprehensive assistance to the patients at the Baringo hospital.


“All students referred to MTRH are in stable condition and are responding well to treatment. Most of them will be discharged soon,” said Kirwa.


Data from the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) show that between January 1 to February 11, 2024, there was an increase in the fatalities caused by accidents compared to deaths recorded during the same period in 2023 which stood at 537.


The statistics indicate that pedestrians lead in fatalities with 216, compared with 163 recorded last year.
Following closely are passengers who recorded 109 deaths which is 11 more compared to the 98 recorded in 2023.


The increased accidents this year robbed the country of World Marathon record holder Kelvin Kiptum who died together with his coach.


Kiptum and his Rwandese coach Gervais Hakizimana died in a tragic road accident in the Kaptagat area along the Elgeyo Marakwet-Ravine road.


Investigations by People Daily indicate that Saturdays are the most dangerous days of the week to travel in Kenya.


Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki yesterday raised concerns over the increase in road fatalities in the country.
Speaking in Kisumu, Kindiki noted that deaths from road accidents were competing with those of serious epidemics.


“We had Covid-19, a terrible epidemic in two years, and the people who died out of the pandemic were over 4,000. Yet in one year alone 4,324 died out of crashes. This means that this problem is worse than the pandemic,” he said.

The Interior CS explained that road accidents are becoming a big problem and many lives are being lost across the country.


“On Monday we lost close to 20 people in separate incidents. Road accidents are becoming a major killer in our country,” he added.


His sentiments came after the Transport CS Kipchumba Murkomen reversed the directive to remove NTSA from the enforcement of road safety rules.


He stated that to prevent deaths on our roads, all stakeholders in the road transport sector must be alive to the fact that road safety is a shared responsibility, and we must all play our rightful roles even as the government puts measures required in place.


Murkomen stated that there will be a crackdown by the police and NTSA to intensify the ongoing nationwide enforcement and impound all unroadworthy vehicles and those not integrated with intelligent road safety Management systems for transmission of speed limiter data.


He added that the Cabinet had approved the establishment of the Kenya Transport Accident Investigation Bureau, which will be an independent and autonomous agency for the investigation of road, rail, and water transport. The Bill is currently with the Attorney-General for publication.


According to the CS, the Bureau will work independently in investigating all transport-related accidents and make recommendations to stem the rising fatalities.


On Monday the Senate Committee on Road and Transport Chairman Kiambu Senator Karungo wa Thang’wa disclosed that the Senate will summon Murkomen over the increase in the number of road accidents.

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