Death and despair

Forty one people perished Thursday on the Nairobi-Narok road in the deadliest road accident in Kenya this year.

A bus they were travelling in rolled several times and landed in a ditch near Eor-Ekule trading centre, 23 kilometres from Narok Town.

More than 30 others were injured in the 1am crash and admitted to different hospitals in Narok and Nairobi.

Police yesterday blamed speeding and overloading for the accident that increased the number of people killed on Kenyan roads from 1,731 at the end of July this year, according to traffic police boss Samuel Kimaru.

Thursday’s crash comes on the heels of three others on July 7, which claimed 20 people.

The runaway road carnage is raising questions about the competence of Kenyan drivers and the ability of the police to enforce traffic regulations introduced by former Transport minister, the late John Michuki.

Grief engulfed Narok as relatives of those who were travelling in the ill-fated bus arrived at the scene.

Most of those injured were taken to Narok District Hospital while the seriously injured are at Kenyatta National Hospital.

And as people were flocking Narok District Hospital to visit the victims, another crash occurred a few kilometres from the town, killing three more people.

“The bus was at high speed and since it was overloaded with luggage on the roof carrier, it failed to negotiate a sharp bend going down a steep part of the road and it rolled,” Mr Kimaru, the traffic commandant, told journalists.

“I’m just from the mortuary and counted 38 bodies. One other person died at the casualty department.

“Two others died while they was being taken to Kenyatta Hospital for specialised treatment,” Mr Kimaru said.

Mr Gerald Okoth, who suffered shoulder and head injuries, and was recovering at the Narok District Hospital, said the driver was speeding.
“The driver was speeding and the bus was also overloaded with passengers and luggage,” said Mr Okoth.

Postmortem fees waived

Another survivor, Mr Peter Okinyi concurred. “I was nervous right from Maai-Mahiu trading centre when the bus started speeding.

I was seated on a back seat and what I recall is the bus leaning to one side and then I heard a loud bang,” Mr Okinyi, 34, told the Nation.

Narok County Governor Samuel Tunai waived postmortem fees for the accident victims to avert a clash between their relatives and management at Narok District Hospital.

The relatives were demanding to have the bodies of their kin, but the hospital insisted that postmortem examinations must first be conducted at Sh5,000 per body.

“Due to the crisis, the hospital should waive the postmortem fees and release the bodies to relatives for proper preservation in other health facilities since the hospital mortuary is overwhelmed,” Mr Tunai said.

Pinyiny area, where the crash occurred, is a black-spot.

“The area is bushy and when the bus started rolling it hit trees and stones that caused more damage,” Mr Kimaru said adding, that the roof of the bus was ripped-off.

A police officer, who did not want to be named, said the driver was new to the route and not familiar with the road.

“That is why he could not negotiate the bend,” said the officer.

Gateway to Nyanza

At the place where the bus veered off the road, the guard rails were ripped off as the vehicle rolled in the rough and bushy terrain.

Police had a hectic time controlling the crowd especially while towing the wreckage of the bus to Nturere Police Station.

At Narok District Hospital it was a race against time as doctors and nurses received the injured.

A nurse who did not want to be named said they were overwhelmed. “We cannot talk now, we want to save lives,” he said as he rushed to the ward where some of the victims were being treated.

Mr Kimaru said the driver of the “City to City” bus company has not been located as we went to press.

He recalled that his officers had previously arrested the driver of a bus from the same company along Thika Road for speeding.

Several other accidents have occurred along the busy road, which is one of the gateways to Nyanza and parts of western Kenya.

Last weekend three people were killed after a water tanker collided head-on with a matatu near Duka Moja Centre, 20 kilometres from Thursday’s accident.

In the second accident, which occurred yesterday two kilometres from Narok Town, three people died on their way to the district hospital.

A lorry heading to Narok Town rammed into a saloon car that was ahead of it. The car then collided head-on with a station-wagon coming from the opposite direction.

A pedestrian died after he was hit by the saloon car, while the other victims were from both the saloon car and the station-wagon.

Reports by John Ngirachu, Peter Leftie, Muchemi Wachira, Macharia Mwangi and George Sayagie