Bus owner in court over deadly Kericho crash
Benard Shitiabayi, the manager of the Western Crossroads Sacco (left) and Cleophas Shimanyula, the owner of the bus that crashed and killed 56 people when they appeared at Molo Law Courts on October 11,2018. PHOTO | JOHN NJOROGE | NATION MEDIA GROUP
The owner of the bus that crashed and killed 56 people in Kericho and a manager were arraigned court on Thursday.
Cleophas Shimanyula, the owner of the bus christened Home Boyz and belonging to Western Crossroads Express Sacco, and Benard Shitiabayi, the manager of the sacco, appeared in a magistrate’s court in Molo but did not take plea after police requested to detain them in order to complete investigation.
Chief Inspector Festus Ondieki in his application asked Senior Resident Magistrate Samuel Wahome to allow police to hold the suspects at Londiani Police Station in Kericho.
The application was objected by the suspects’ lawyers who said it violated his client’s constitutional right to freedom.
“Despite sympathising with the bereaved families, my clients just like any other suspects have a right which cannot be carried with emotions,” said lawyer Ken Ochieng'.
The magistrate deferred the ruling on the application to Friday saying that he needed time to go through the submissions by both parties.
He ordered the suspects be detained at Londiani Police Station pending the ruling.
In the Wednesday dawn crash, 56 passengers lost their lives and 15 others were seriously injured when the bus which was traveling from Nairobi to Kisumu veered off the road and landed on a rocky farm in Fort Ternan, Kericho County.
The two suspects were arrested on Wednesday evening after it emerged that the crash was as a result of dangerous driving and flouting of traffic regulations.
Kericho police boss James Mogera said the registration status of the bus could not be found on the NTSA website.
