- The CS said that in 2024, Kenya had 4,324 road fatalities, and in 2023 4,690 people died from the crashes.
- Kindiki said that most victims end up being crippled after the accidents.
Image: MINA
Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki has raised concerns over the increase in road fatalities in the country.
Speaking in Kisumu on Tuesday, the CS noted that deaths from road accidents are competing with those of serious epidemics.
"We had Covid-19, a terrible epidemic in two years, and the people who died out of the pandemic were over 4,000. Yet in one year alone 4,324 died out of crashes. This means that this problem is worse than the pandemics," Kindiki stated.
The Interior CS explained that road accidents are becoming a big problem and many lives are being lost across the country.
"On Monday we lost close to 20 people in separate incidents. Road accidents are becoming a major killer in our country," the CS added.
The CS said that in 2024, Kenya had 4,324 road fatalities, and in 2023 4,690 people died from the accidents.
Kindiki said that most victims end up being crippled after the accidents.
The CS said their families end up selling properties, and land to foot in bills as a result of the accidents.
In the latest incident, five people were on Monday killed in a road accident along Olonguruone-Silibwet Road in Bomet.
The accident involving a matatu and a tractor left 18 injured.
In another scene on the same day, atleast 11 students from Kenyatta University, lost their lives in a collision involving their bus and a trailer in Maungu on the Mombasa-Nairobi highway on Monday night.
The students were heading to Mombasa on a trip.
42 others sustained injuries, with some in critical condition.
According to NTSA, from January to February 2024, road accidents across the country have claimed 649 lives.
The statistics are an increase compared to the 623 recorded during the same period in 2023.
A 2023 report by NTSA showed that losing control was one of the main causes of road crashes, accounting for 929 deaths.
Cause not traced accounted for 575 road deaths followed by lane indiscipline at 491.
Overtaking improperly led to 443 accidents while misjudging clearance, distance, or speed resulted in 310 deaths.
Inappropriate speed accounted for 274 road crashes, and other apparent errors of judgment or negligence accounted for 219 deaths.
Also, stepping, walking, or running off the footpath or verge onto the road resulted in 121 deaths while crossing roads not masked by stationary vehicles accounted for 73 deaths.
Turning without due care accounted for 84 deaths, swerving had 58, walking or standing on the road had 60, and brake failure resulted in 45 deaths.