Kenya seeks national disaster status for road accidents
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Capital FM
Kenya’s transport safety authority has called for road accidents to be declared a national disaster after a collision near Mtito Andei killed 23 people and injured 25. The classification would allow more funds to be mobilised and responses to be coordinated, according to the authority.
Kenya’s National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) has called for road accidents to be declared a national disaster after a collision killed 23 people and injured 25 near Mtito Andei, in south-eastern Kenya. It says such a measure would make it possible to mobilise more funding, coordinate public service responses and set measurable road safety targets, according to Capital FM.
The accident happened on Sunday at around 7.45am in Kanga, about 10 kilometres east of Mtito Andei, on the Nairobi-Mombasa highway. A bus belonging to the Power of the Word Church International, carrying 45 passengers to Mombasa after a funeral ceremony, collided head-on with a lorry. The injured were taken to hospitals in Mtito Andei and Kambu, some in critical condition. Police are examining, among other possibilities, whether the bus was overtaking.
The NTSA’s request comes after a fatal accident on the Nairobi-Mombasa highway, which killed 17 people on 3 October. Roads and Transport Minister Davis Chirchir said the recurrence of these tragedies required coordinated and lasting action.
