Passengers in the ill-fated bus that was involved in a grisly road accident at dawn yesterday, claiming the lives of thirteen passengers and scores injured knew they would have a rocky journey from the word go.

Their journey from Kisumu to Mombasa was delayed by slightly more than an hour to 4:50pm waiting for the bus to be serviced.
A survivor, Rhoda Atieno said passengers demanded that the Coast Bus Company vehicle be checked after they heard that it was not serviced before leaving Mombasa.

“The passengers heard the crew saying that the bus had not been serviced when it left Mombasa and they demanded that it be checked,” said Atieno.

Brake failure

The bus driver lost control of the vehicle and it suffered brake failure, rammed into the rear of a salon car, hit a culvert and rolled into a ditch killing 13 people on the spot.

Rift Valley Regional Police Commander, Jasper Ombati said among the dead was an infact, five women and seven men.

He said the small car, a Toyota Passo reported all fatalities during the 4:00 am accident at Migaa along the black spot Salgaa stretch on Nakuru-Eldoret Highway.

“Another 55 passengers were admitted to different hospitals in Rongai and Molo sub-counties while the bodies were moved to Molo District Hospital Mortuary,” he said.

Ombati said police had processed the scene of accident pending investigations to ascertain the actual cause of accident. He added that the damaged bus would be subjected to motor vehicle inspection. Atieno said the bus had mishaps along the way and hardship climbing hills.

“We got to Kericho at about 7:30pm and stayed in the town until 2:30am on Tuesday waiting for the bus to be re-checked by mechanics,” she said.

She said the passengers’ attempt to have an alternative bus from the same company were fruitless.

“The driver of the bus instead sought a mechanic who made repairs on the bus after which we resumed the journey towards Nakuru at around 2:30am,” said Atieno.

Another survivor, Jackson Odera said the bus started speeding at the Sachang’wan downhill without minding the bumps to the distress of passengers who started cautioning the driver to lower the speed.

“It is at this point that the driver disclosed that the brakes had failed,” said Odera.

Approaching danger

He said people started praying for their lives as it became apparent that they were approaching danger.

“The bus rammed into the Toyota Passo from behind, hit a culvert, overturned and landed in a ditch,” he said.

Odera who narrated how he blacked out and only regained consciousness while in hospital said the bus could have been carrying excess passengers because the two mechanics and an extra conductor who entered the vehicle in Kericho were still on board. 

 “I found myself on the ground without shoes. I had been thrown out through one of the windows as the bus proceeded to roll. I sustained some injuries but am glad to be alive,” said Odera.

 When the dust settled, at around 4am, six people including an infant lay dead by the side of the road and inside the bus and were retrieved by first responders from the area.

Affected families

 Ombati, the Regional Police Commander said help desk to help affected families was set at the Molo hospital by the Kenya Red Cross.

He said there were ten survivors admitted at Molo Hospital, seventeen at the Nakuru County Hospital and another 28 at Coptic Hospital in Rongai. The mangled vehicles were towed to Salgaa Police Station.

Early this year, eight people perished in a road accident involving a matatu and a trailer near Ngata Bridge on the same Nakuru-Eldoret highway.

The incident occurred when a matatu heading towards Eldoret collided head-on with a trailer heading towards Nakuru town. The PSV was on the climbing lane.

Six adults and two minors are among those killed in the accident.

The road all the way from the Ngata bridge to the Mau Summit turn-off is classified as a black spot. In November 2023, 11 people were killed in an accident that involved a matatu and a lorry. In December 2022, eight people died after two matatus they were traveling in were involved in a road crash with a trailer.