12 die in Kenya road crash

Twelve people died and many others were injured in an accident involving a bus and trailer at Manyani on the Nairobi- Mombasa highway Saturday in Taita Taveta County.

Taita Police boss Nathaniel Aseneka said the bus was headed to Nairobi from Mombasa collided head on with a trailer at around 1am.

He said that they could not immediately establish the circumstances surrounding the cause of the accident since both drivers died at the scene.

This area, he said had become a valley of death since it has cost tens of lives this year despite consistent warnings to motorists.

A survivor, Ms Grace Kalekye told the Nation that the bus was speeding.

She said that the accident occurred as the driver was trying to overtake the trailer before the vehicles collided.

“It was by miracle that I survived and I even helped others come out of the bus,” Ms Kalekye said.

The accident occurred at a time when the police and Transport Licensing Board (TLB) are carrying out a major crackdown on unroadworthy vehicles across the country.

“We are appealing to passengers to support the police to eradicate the culture of flouting traffic rules to minimise accidents on the roads,” said Mr Aseneka.

The police boss said it was unfortunate that when a crack down like the one going on in the Coast was instituted the public turn to support the Public service vehicle operators and demonise the Police.

He said the area between Kyulu and Manyani is a black spot and urged drivers to be careful when negotiating the stretch.

In July, former Voi MP Boniface Mganga died in an accident and 10 other people died in August on the same spot while returning home from a Kenya Wildlife Service rangers' graduation in Manyani.