Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki has drawn a comparison between the number of fatalities which have resulted from recent road crashes to that recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.
Kindiki made the comparison while speaking in Kisumu on March 19, 2024, when he presided over the commissioning of the Kisumu West Sub-County headquarters.
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The Interior CS while referring to the number of fatalities recorded during the pandemic between 2020 and 2021 noted that the severity of road traffic accidents in the country is rivaling epidemics in terms of fatalities.
According to him, the country suffers approximately 4,000 fatalities annually from road accidents, with thousands sustaining serious physical injuries.
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“Between 2020 and 2022, we had COVID-19, a terrible epidemic. In those 2 years, the people who died out of COVID-19 were 4,600, yet in one year alone, 4000 people are dying out of traffic accidents, meaning this problem of road traffic accidents is worse off than even serious epidemics like Covid-19,” Kindiki said.
While terming the loss of lives as alarming and a huge problem, the Interior CS cited three recent traffic accidents that occurred on Monday, March 18, 2024.
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The accidents which happened in separate incidents within different parts of the country claimed the lives of more than 18 people, with others left nursing serious injuries.
CS Kindiki disclosed that he has since held discussions with his Transport counterpart Kipchumba Murkomen in order to address the scourge of road accidents.
“The recent surge in fatal road accidents had informed the government’s decision to crank up traffic management measures to avoid more fatalities,” he said.
Also Read: Kindiki Announces Crackdown on Select Vehicles Amid Surging Accidents
Kindiki also directed all security agencies to collaboratively begin a nationwide crackdown against traffic offenders and impound all unroadworthy vehicles.
Kindiki on Govt action
His transport counterpart also noted that the National Transport Safety Agency (NTSA) and the National Police Service Traffic Department in conjunction with other agencies, will work together towards finding a lasting solution to the challenge.
“Together, we must come up with a program to reign in on the problem of road traffic, enforce the law and make sure that we bring down the numbers of our people that we are losing every year through road traffic accidents,” he said.
While appealing to motorists, drivers, and even boda-boda riders to work together with the government to prevent further loss of life, Kindiki warned that going forward, the government will take stringent action against any individual flouting road traffic regulations.
Also Read: 11 Kenyatta University Students Die in Grisly Road Accident
His remarks came following three different accidents recorded on March 18 which included at least 11 Kenyatta University (KU) students who tragically lost their lives following a fatal road crash along the Mombasa-Nairobi highway.
The accident happened at Taita village near Maungu in Taita Taveta County when the KU bus that was ferrying students for a trip in Mombasa collided with a trailer.
CS Murkomen and NTSA are also set to appear before the Senate’s Roads, Transportation and Housing Committee for a summon over the recent surge in the number of road crashes.
