Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen is set to appear before senators for a summon over the recent surge in the number of road crashes.
Kiambu Senator Karungo Thang’wa who is the chairperson of the Senate’s Roads, Transportation and Housing Committee in a statement on March 19 revealed that the Senators would be summoning Murkomen.
He further revealed that the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) will also be summoned to explain the recent surge of accidents.
“In my capacity as Chairperson of the Senate’s Roads & Transportation Committee, we shall convene tomorrow to summon CS Murkomen and NTSA to appear before us,” read part of the statement.
According to the Kiambu Senator, both sides will be requested to elucidate upon the recent surge in road accidents and the measures they have implemented to mitigate and prevent such occurrences in the future.
Thang’wa made the remarks as he extended his deepest condolences to the families of Kenyatta University (KU) students who tragically lost their lives following a fatal road crash along the Mombasa-Nairobi highway.
The accident happened on March 18, 2024, at Taita village near Maungu in Taita Taveta County left at least 11 students dead and others injured.
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A KU bus that was ferrying students for a trip in Mombasa was involved in a crash after it collided with a trailer.
The accident was among two separate fatal crashes recorded on the evening of March 18 that left a total number of 18 people dead and others seriously injured.
Murkomen to be summoned after spike in fatalities
In the other accident, five people died on the spot while 18 others were injured after a 14-seater passenger van rammed into a tractor along the Olenguruone-Silibwet road in the Kimugul area, Bomet County.
According to eyewitnesses, the accident happened at a steep slope when the driver of the van lost control of the vehicle in turn ramming a tractor that was heading towards Olenguruone town.
A statement by the Police which revealed that they have begun investigations into the accident added that the injured were rushed to the Tenwek Hospital for treatment while bodies of the deceased were moved to the Tenwek morgue.
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These two accidents add to the number of road crashes which have led to the loss of lives that have been recorded in the year 2024.
NTSA through a February 14, 2024, report announced that a total of 563 Kenyans had lost their lives in road accidents in the period between January 1 to February 11, 2024.
“One hundred and nine fatalities were recorded for passengers, 535 were seriously injured and 755 got slight injuries,” the report added.
In addition, 1,403 others were left seriously injured with 1,124 left slightly injured within the same period according to the statistics released by the authority.
