By Brian Okoth
There has been a surge in road accidents in Kenya in recent times, with at least 30 people killed in separate crashes in April alone.
Government records indicate that between January 1 and April 1 this year, 1,189 people have lost their lives in road accidents. That is an increase of 60, compared with the same period in 2023, when 1,129 people died in road accidents.
Between April 1 – when the report was released – and April 9, at least 30 more deaths have been recorded on Kenyan roads.
On April 2, a high school student died in a bus accident in the Western Kenya county of Kisumu, while 10 other victims were killed in a separate crash in the eastern county of Makueni.
Tens of deaths, injuries
On April 6, two people died after a bus rammed the rear side of a fuel tanker at Kikuyu town in the central county of Kiambu.
The following day (April 7), four people died after a bus rolled at Nithi Bridge in eastern Kenya.
On April 8, six people aboard a Toyota Probox died in the Rift Valley county of Kericho after their vehicle collided with an oncoming truck.
On April 9, seven people were killed when a public service van, known locally as matatu, collided with a truck in the Rift Valley county of Nakuru. Tens of people have been injured in the accidents between April 1 and 9.
Pedestrians most affected
From January 1 to April 1, 2024, some 7,198 people in Kenya have been involved in road accidents, marking an increase of 1,908 compared with a similar period in 2023.
Among the accident-related fatalities, pedestrians lead with more than 430 deaths recorded between January 1 and April 1, 2024.
The spike in accident-caused fatalities has forced the Kenyan government to introduce stricter regulations, including serious penalties for dangerous driving and overloading, which are the leading causes of crashes.
The notable new policy, which will take effect in the near future, is the suspension of a driver's licence for overtaking a school bus that has activated its stop sign.
Prayers
On Tuesday, Transport Minister Kipchumba Murkomen suspended the issuance of short-term licences for public transport operators.
The minister said the suspension would allow the country's National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) to conduct a comprehensive audit of all PSV operators.
The worrying trend of accident cases in the East African nation has prompted desperate calls for intervention, with former senator Johnson Muthama suggesting prayers to help contain the carnage.
In 2006 and 2009, the then-President Mwai Kibaki set aside separate national prayer days after two air accidents – domestically and abroad – claimed the lives of tens of people.
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