Kenya Bus-Truck Collision Kills 24 and Renews Road Safety Calls

At least 24 people were killed and about 24 others injured in a head-on collision between a bus and a truck on Kenya’s main highway, authorities said.

The crash occurred on the road linking Nairobi with the port city of Mombasa on Sunday morning. The bus was carrying passengers returning to Mombasa after attending the funeral of their church pastor in western Kenya.

Authorities cite improper overtaking

Authorities attributed the collision to improper overtaking. Reverend Spencier Mdave, a passenger and witness, gave a similar account of events before the crash.

“Those of us who witnessed the ordeal say that the trailer tried to overtake our bus only to meet on-coming traffic and tried to abort the overtake. That is when they lost control,” Mdave said.

Mdave said passengers seated at the back of the bus suffered the most serious injuries, while some people at the front were in better condition. He said he sustained a few bruises and had been discharged.

Calls for national action

The collision happened about three weeks after another accident on the same highway in which 17 people died, according to the source report.

Kenya’s transport safety authority called for road crashes to be declared a national emergency. Transport safety officials separately called for road accidents to be designated a national disaster.

Those officials said approximately 20,000 crashes claim more than 5,000 lives in Kenya each year. Speeding and poor road conditions have also previously been cited as contributing factors in road accidents in the country.

Vehicle inspections ordered

President William Ruto ordered inspections of all public service vehicles to ensure compliance and help eliminate road accidents. He also sent condolences to the families of those killed.

Ruto urged drivers to “exercise utmost caution and observe traffic rules to safeguard lives.”

The source report did not provide the identities of those killed or injured, details about the operators involved, or the results of any investigation into the collision.