Who will exorcise demons on the countys' killer highways?

Kenyan roads have become dangerous, claiming lives repeatedly through horrific accidents.

The majority of these accidents have always involved oil tankers, cargo trucks, public service vehicles known as matatus and motorbike (boda boda) riders. Though sporadic, they make news headlines due to the massive casualty rate, destruction of property and leaving scores with life-threatening injuries. Often, they involve head-on collisions, matatus ramming into stationary trucks - like the one that took place last week and in the process oil tankers exploding into huge fireballs from the impact.

According to the relevant road and transport authorities, missing signposts and road marks, careless driving and narrow bridges along the highways are the major causes of the carnages.

The National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA), report that some 4,139 Kenyans died from road-related accidents between January 1 to December 20, 2023 compared to the 4,517 recorded in the same period last year.

Locations along major highways like Londiani, Nithi Bridge, Kaburengu junction, Chimoi, Mukhonje, Kipkaren towards Eldoret and Lwandeti could be the deadliest blackspots on Kenyan roads if anything is to go by.

In a horrific incident in June 30, 2023 a commercial truck loaded with cement collided with multiple vehicles at the Londiani junction, resulting in the death of 53 individuals, including roadside traders and their customers.

Injured and traumatised

Among the survivors was Mary Chepkoech Maritim, a 48-year-old matron at Kirobon Girls Secondary School in Nakuru County. She was travelling from Kericho to Nakuru and says the accident happened in a flash, leaving her injured and traumatised.

“The accident happened in a twinkle of an eye. I just heard a bang, tyres screeching, and people screaming,” she said from her hospital bed at Kericho County Hospital.

Despite the chaos, Maritim escaped with soft tissue injuries, breaking the vehicle’s window and manoeuvring over lifeless bodies to exit the crash site. “I thank God that I emerged alive in a situation where many people died,” she said.

The ill-fated Nanaki Sacco vehicle had stopped at the Londiani junction and was seeking alternative transportation for passengers before tragedy struck. “The accident happened before the conductor could get us an alternative vehicle,” said Maritim.

Among the victims was Joan Chepchirchir, a 38-year-old roadside roasted maize vendor and hawker. Her cousin, Caroline Cherutich, spoke to The Nairobian.

“She wanted to use the school half-term break to raise some money for children’s school needs but ended up dying in the crash,” she said.

The driver of the cement-laden truck, Gilbert Mutuye Mungu, a Rwandese, cited brake failure as the cause of the accident.

“I departed from Simba Cement Factory in Salgaa heading towards Uganda through Busia town and lost control of my truck due to brake failure. I was with my co-driver, and I don’t know whether he has been admitted,” he said.

“Upon arriving at the junction heading towards Malaba, I lost control of the vehicle because the brakes could not function, and I panicked,” Mutuye added.

Mutuye, who faced 90 charges, including dangerous driving leading to loss of lives, appeared before the Molo Law Courts on July 20th.

Western Kenya

In Western Kenya, Kaburengu market on the border of Kakamega and Bungoma counties is synonymous with fatal road crashes. Some of the most gruesome deaths from accidents in Western Kenya have taken place there, Kaburengu lies at the junction of Webuye-Kakamega-Eldoret roads. Along the Webuye-Eldoret road, Mukhonje market and Kipkaren River are some of the blackspots.

North of Webuye town, along the Webuye-Kitale road, Kamukuywa bridge in Bungoma County is yet another blackspot on which many have lost their lives. Shimala Vandu, a market centre along the Kakamega-Webuye Road, derived its name from the numerous deaths occasioned by accidents at the market. The Kakamega-Kisumu road has blackspots in places like Mwidambitsa and Lunyerere.

At Kaburengu, Kipkaren River and Mukhonje markets, most of the accidents involve fuel tankers, articulated trucks, cane trailers and public service vehicles.

“There are times when brakes heat up after long use and that leads to brake failure.  If that happens when one is going downhill, an accident is bound to happen,” Truck driver Daniel Mwangi said.  

He also blames matatu drivers who recklessly overtake and suddenly stop to pick up passengers.

“That does not leave truck drivers time to react. You need time and distance to bring a truck to a complete stop,” Mwangi explained.

“Accidents happen here on a weekly basis. We have, and continue to plead with the county government to expand the narrow River Nzoia bridge at Kaburengu to reduce accidents” Lukhova village elder Veronica Wasike says.

In June 2023, Five pupils of Ebenezer Academy in Busia and a driver died in a road accident along the Webuye-Eldoret highway.

A truck carrying ballast hit the school bus from behind just 100 metres from the Kaburengu flyover.

The bus had 25 people; one teacher, the driver and 23 pupils. It was returning to Busia after an academic trip in Eldoret. They were travelling in three buses. The one that was involved in the accident had 25 people.

The accident occurred barely three weeks after another occurred on the same spot. Four people died.

In March 2014, four pupils from Chimoi Primary School were crushed to death at Kaburengu by a truck that had lost control.

In December 2018, 16 people were killed at the same spot after a tanker rammed a matatu at the junction. On August 24, 2020, Eight people died in an accident involving a truck and matatu. Almost a year later on August 21, 2021, six people died in an accident involving a truck and a matatu. Two months later on October 31, 2021, one person was killed in an accident involving two trucks and a private car, still at Kaburengu. Then on January 24, 2022, two people were also killed at Kaburengu.

Seven people died at Mukhonje in a fierce inferno after a tanker rammed into another and exploded on August 8, 2021. On March 12, 2022, another accident involving two fuel tankers caused a fire that killed one person on the same spot then on May 7, another truck overturned, this time without fatalities. However, residents claim a week hardly goes by without an accident occurring.

Chris Evayo, an old man who has witnessed many accidents at Kamukuywa bridge says, “Most of the accidents here happen in the evening, many of them a result of reckless driving. Sometimes tractors carrying extra loads of sugarcane contribute to accidents. The bridge is wide enough even though it’s not safe for pedestrians”.

On December 12, 2017, 19 people died after a tractor rammed a matatu on the Kamukuywa bridge. On January 1, 2018, 12 people from the same family died in an accident involving a tractor and a matatu at the bridge. On May 18, another 14 people died at Kamukuywa, to be followed by yet another 15 deaths barely a week later on May 25, 2018.

Causes

The accidents, many believe, can be reduced if a pedestrian walkway were to be constructed and speed bumps erected on both approaches to the bridge. A man who identified himself only as Wakhungu says “Grisly accidents became worse after a 1978 incident in which Tiriki boys headed for a circumcision ceremony perished at this spot”.

”Driver fatigue is also a major cause of accidents at this bridge,” he adds. The problem is the same at Kipkaren River, a centre that, on one side, lies in Kakamega County and the other, in Uasin Ngishu County.

“We are lucky to have pedestrian crossings built on both sides of the road. However, all accidents here involve lorries and matatus, especially on the Kakamega side. This road marks the boundary between Uasin Ngishu and Kakamega counties” said Jared Simiyu.

“Every two or three days an accident occurs here. It is normally worse on market days that fall on Tuesday and Sunday. Traders put their wares right on the edge of the road. Matatus stop anyhow and anywhere to pick up passengers and this has contributed to an increase in accidents” said Matolo who also called upon the government to erect speed bumps and expand the road.

On July 20, 2014, six people died after a lorry rolled and hit them. On May 10, 2015, the death toll from a matatu and truck accident was 10 people.

Mitigation

“The county government should build a matatu terminus off the road to reduce accidents. Leaders should stop making empty promises during the burials of accident victims yet end up doing nothing until the next accident happens,” said Simiyu.

Barely ten meters to Lunyerere bridge from the Kisumu side of the road are turnings to Itando Mission Hospital on the right and Ilunza water supply on the left.

“There is a drop when one gets off the main road to any of the dirt. It is normally when a vehicle slows down to get off the road that an unwary driver from behind rams into it,” says Asutsa Udali.

“A lot of school-going kids get killed here. There are schools on both sides of the road and it takes kids hours to cross the road due to the volume of traffic and the speeds at which vehicles move at this point” explained Anzeze.

“To spare children and those who must cross the road at this point, the government should consider building a footbridge here as well as erecting speed bumps to slow down vehicles. We cannot blame the road,” Nagweya concluded.

In Meru, many accidents occur at various sections of the highways due to the mountainous terrain.

As one leaves Runyenjes in Embu County the slope down the Thuci River is just one of many tricky sections along the Embu-Chuka-Meru highway and motorists are better advised to be extra careful and avoid speeding at all costs.

Blackspots

Various black spots along the Embu-Meru and Meru-Nanyuki highways have claimed many lives in the past and as more people travel upcountry for the festivities, it is important to understand which areas are most dangerous.

Without question, the Nithi River bridge section is one of the trickiest to navigate, especially for people who do not understand the geography of the section.

Most drivers who know Nithi bridge slow down the moment they reach Mitheru when coming from the Chuka side, or from Marima town if they are from the Meru side.

Going down the winding slope from either side at high speed needs extra caution, meaning chances of successfully navigating it at 100km/hr or over, are near impossible.

Interestingly, when we stopped at the bridge to observe, drivers from Mitheru towards Marima appeared more reckless, as opposed to those heading to the Mitheru side.

They go down at break-neck speed, overtaking motorcyclists and others at will. Though brake failure has in the past been blamed for some of the accidents at the spot where tens of people have lost their lives in the past, speeding has also been cited.

Another dangerous black spot is at Ng’onyi as one approaches Meru town. Ng’onyi, with its smooth surface and marked with scenic areas on both sides, is an inviting area.

But many drivers and their passengers have died here, where a sharp bend in yet another hilly area has proven to pose a challenge for drivers, especially visitors.

“The drivers especially matatu drivers who pass here every day know this area very well. Unfortunately, many matatus and even miraa transporters have collided here, leaving many dead. The danger spot stretches all the way to Gikumene,” said Phyllis Kaarai, a local.

Many lives have been lost at Ng’onyi where public service vehicles, lorries and road users have been involved in head-on collisions as they attempted to overtake.

Subuiga along the Meru-Nanyuki highway, just after the turn to Isiolo, is another of the notorious black-spot that have claimed tens of lives, both adults and children.

Subuiga is a black spot that has claimed many lives, and even motorists who are no strangers to the stretch are always wary when driving in the area. Though there is little human settlement around the area, residents are used to going to the rescue of those in accidents.

In Muranga, Notorious black spots are between Kenol and Kambiti, Murang’a Kiria ini road among several others. Police say the blackspots are in all the sub-counties except Ithanga, in the lower Murang’a with Kwa Samaki,  Kwa Muthike,  Mlima Swara along the Kenol Makutano section of the dual carriage under construction.

Others are Thika Road’s Ngati Junction and Makeji old Murang’a road junction.

“There is a need for all road users to observe highway codes, as the traffic police will be on the roads to ensure full compliance of the regulations,” said David Mathiu, County Police Commander.

 

[Reporting by Nathan Ochunge, Alexander Chagema, Nikko Tanui, Boniface Gikandi and Phares Mutembei]