Five people were killed on Monday morning, February 28, after a matatu hit a trailer at Nyakome area on the Kisii - Nyamira highway.
Police reports indicated that five other people escaped with severe injuries and were rushed to nearby health facilities for treatment.
Police rushed to the scene minutes after the matatu collided with the trailer. By the time of going to press, officers at the scene were still investigating how the accident happened.
The fatalities add to the statistics that denote an increasing number of accidents witnessed in the recent past.
The latest report from the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) showed that the number of road accidents fatalities jumped from 3,707 in 2020 to 4,347 in 2021.
Nairobi County led the fatality cases with 495 cases, followed by Kiambu (425), Machakos (205), Meru (158) and Murang'a recorded 150 fatalities.
The increasing number of accidents has led to a major crackdown in Nairobi with police officers, alongside officials from the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA), pitching camp on busy highways and routes across the country.
Speaking to the media recently, Government spokesperson Col (Rtd) Cyrus Oguna affirmed that over 1,700 vehicles had been impounded within a period of three days.
“The government aims at eradicating those vehicles with expired or without PSV badge, drivers operating without uniform and a driver’s license, as well as other violations, including operating uninsured motor vehicles, excess pillion passengers, worn-out tires, defective motor vehicles and those exceeding the speed limit,” he pointed out.
Further, the government spokesperson stated that they would be keen on routes that are considered as blackspots.
"As a government, we must take action and cannot afford to relax when we are losing all these lives. Last year, at a time like now 612 lives had been lost, but now the number has escalated to 706 lives,” he noted.
