Couple killed as matatu veers off road

A man and his wife are among six people who died after a matatu they were travelling in was involved in an accident along the Nyeri-Nyahururu road.

The couple is said to have been headed to Nyahururu from Nyeri when the matatu hit a pothole and veered off the road then rolled several times.

Three people died on the spot among them the matatu driver while four others were admitted to Nyahururu District Hospital after the Sunday accident.

A few metres away from the first accident scene, another matatu rolled after its front tyre burst, killing two people on the spot.

A third person died in hospital on Monday morning.

Sources at Nyahururu District Hospital said the other six accident victims admitted at the hospital were responding well to treatment.

In Nyahururu, the driver of a vehicle involved in an accident along the Njabini-Miharati-Ol Kalou road during which eight family members died will be arraigned in court soon.

Speaking during the launch of a road safety campaign in Nyahururu on Monday, Central provincial traffic enforcement officer Joseph Sigei said the woman driver had been bonded and given time to recuperate before being taken to court.

Mr Sigei, who was accompanied by Nyandarua district traffic boss Patrick Manyasi, said investigations had been completed and the police believed they had a strong case against the woman.

The vehicle was carrying 16 relatives coming from a get-together when the accident occurred in Gillette area mid this month.

Elsewhere, a provincial administrator was killed while four of his relatives were injured when a vehicle they were travelling in veered off the road near Laisamis Town on the Isiolo-Marsabit highway.

Marsabit police chief Hamprey Wanzala said Nairobi’s Mathere North chief Elema Ali died on the spot after the vehicle he was driving went off the road following a front tyre burst.

Mr Wanzala said two of the passengers sustained serious injuries, including leg fractures, and were admitted to Laisamis Catholic Mission Hospital where a good Samaritan took them.

With bruises

The police chief added that two other travellers, including a Central Bank assistant director, Dr Dulacha Galgallo, escaped with bruises and were treated and discharged at the same hospital.

The five relatives were headed to North Horr for the New Year festivities when the accident occurred.

Mr Ali was buried at the Marsabit Catholic cemetery because his home area in North Horr could not be reached due to heavy rains pounding the area.

Mr Wanzala asked motorist to be extra careful during this festive season and especially now that the area is experiencing heavy rains, reducing visibility and making the roads slippery.