Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has brushed off claims that the country is experiencing a surge in fatal accidents.
Speaking during a church service in Narok on Sunday, the CS argued that accidents and fatalities had been on the rise since the country gained independence.
Murkomen noted that when former President Mwai Kibaki took over the reins in 2004, annual fatalities from accidents averaged 3,000, a figure that rose to its peak of 4,650 in 2022.
"I am distraught by road accidents and we thank Michuki for bringing order on the road including safety belts. What we have not been able to stop are road accidents," he explained.
"When Mwai Kibaki took over the reins, we were loosing 3,000 people in 2004. In 2009, we lost 4,600. The figure dropped slightly but spiked. In 2022, we lost 4,650 people. Last year, the figure dropped to 4,300. Right now, we have lost 1,213 in 3 months. In the same period, we lost 1,146."
After pressure from individuals asking his office to take up measures aimed at reducing the accidents, the CS argued that road carnage had affected all regimes.
He further explained that the success rate depended on the government's input as well as that of the public in following traffic rules.
Murkomen lamented that motorcycles accounted for the highest figure followed by pedestrians and called on individuals to take responsibility by not boarding full vehicles.
"Let me tell Kenyans because many people are speaking as though a new wave of accidents has just happened, it is not true. We have been losing people annually, over 4,400, in the last five years. The worst year was 2022. What does that say? We have not placed enough measures to deal with accidents since independence," he told the congregation.
"From 2004, we have been losing an average of 3,800 people every year. If you do the maths, it shows that we have lost an average of 100,000 people in 20 years because of road accidents. Someone cannot just wake up one day and tell the CS to end road carnage, this is a national catastrophe. It is a problem that calls for an all public approach to sort out road accident cases."
In the last few weeks, the CS directed the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) to resume its road traffic duties with the help of the National Police Service.
Murkomen has also proposed the introduction of dashboard and CCTV cameras in public service vehicles. He also wants telematics introduced in trucks and school buses to monitor driver activity.
