Toll from Karai smash-up hits 43 as LSK piles blame on NTSA
What you need to know:
This is after two more victims of the fiery smash-up succumbed to their injuries at Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) and one at Nairobi Hospital succumbed to injuries on Tuesday morning.
The deaths leave one survivor of the Saturday morning crash still hospitalised at KNH.
The government on Tuesday also announced that all 33 bodies recovered from the accident will have their DNA tested before being released to their families.
The death toll from the Naivasha road accident has risen to 43 after three more victims died while undergoing treatment in Nairobi.
Two victims of the fiery smash-up succumbed to their injuries at Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) and one at Nairobi Hospital on Tuesday morning.
The deaths leave one survivor of the Saturday night crash still hospitalised at KNH.
The government on Tuesday also announced that all 33 bodies recovered from the crash scene would undergo DNA tests before being released to their families.
FAMILIES' PAIN
Five bodies have features that could be used in identifying them but several families who viewed the remains lay claim to the same body, prompting DNA tests.
“We do not want any mishaps during the process and ask that families wait until all bodies have been identified,” National Disaster Operations Centre Director Nathan Kigotho said.
By Tuesday afternoon, 28 families had given DNA samples to aid in the identification.
The samples came from mothers of the victims and, in cases where the mother is unavailable, the victims' siblings.
Families will have to wait two weeks for the identification to be concluded before the remains of their loved ones can be released for burial.
ILLEGAL BUMPS
This came as the Law Society of Kenya questioned the National Transport and Safety Authority's (NTSA) approach to road safety.
LSK President Isaac Okero challenged the authority to explain to Kenyans why it had failed to order the removal of illegal bumps on highways and restricted its mandate to arresting speeding and drunk drivers.
“This unfortunate tragedy has shown us that it must address its mandate holistically. It cannot be just speeding and drink driving and erecting of illegal speed bumps is just one area in which the NTSA appears to have dropped the ball,” said Mr Okero.
The LSK called for investigations into the accident even as reports show that the bumps at Karai could have contributed to the accident.
President Kenyatta on Jamhuri Day blamed the Transport ministry for failing to install proper signage where bumps have been erected.
KeNHA AWARE
Mr Okero said there was evidence online that the bumps at Karai had raised public concern as early as February this year, with the Kenya National Highway Authority (KeNHA) being questioned about it in April by a concerned citizen via Twitter.
On April 23, KeNHA responded to the tweet: "The illegal bumps are a challenge on our major road corridors. We are sensitising on the dangers of erecting illegal bumps."
“This statement suggests the authorities have been aware. Other reports on social media predating the incident point to the occurrence of less serious accidents at the very spot,” said Mr Okero.
He added that even ordinary road users understand that there must be a certain degree of engineering that goes into the design and erecting of bumps on a road.
