ANOTHER ACCIDENT-KILLS 9

Nine people lost their lives Monday afternoon following a grisly road accident along the Thika- Murang'a road as road carnage continue to take its toll on Kenyan roads.

The accident is said to have occurred after the driver of a public service vehicle (matatu) traveling from Nairobi to Murang'a lost control and hit a tree near Blue Post Hotel in Thika.

The driver of the ill-fated matatu who was said to have been driving recklessly took off immediately after the accident.

The accident comes a day after six members of the same family lost their lives along the Keroka-Nyansiongo road in Borabu district after their vehicle collided with a bus in heavy downpour.

Six of the injured were rushed to Thika District Hospital in critical condition.

Central Province Administration Police Commander, Joseph Keitany said the vehicle which was headed to Murang'a from Nairobi appeared to have been speeding when the accident occurred.

He said the matatu rolled several times killing the victims who included 3 women, one child and 4 men. He said the vehicle hit a tree before rolling severally.

Keitany who was on his way back to Nyeri where he operates called for reinforcement from the local police station including Thika OCPD, Patrick Mwakio who rushed to the scene and helped in rescuing the survivors from the mangled wreck of the matatu.

Accidents along Kenyan roads claim thousands of lives each year with most of them attributed to the public service sector which at most operates as if it were a law unto itself.

Efforts to tame the drivers of the matatus have for the most part failed except during a short spell starting in 2003 when the then transport minister John Michuki introduced stringent safety measures including speed governors in a bid to lower fatalities on the roads.

However most of the drivers have since gone back to their wayward ways with Kenyans pointing an accusing finger at Michuki's replacement at the ministry Chirau Ali Mwakwere for failing to enforce the laws.

And as the blame game between the ministry and police officers over who should enforce the laws continued, Kenyans continued to perish along the roads.