William Ruto Orders Action as Death Toll in Kisumu Road Crash Hits 26
- The death toll in the Kisumu road accident has risen to 26, from 21 reported on the fateful evening
- A bus ferrying mourners overturned at the Coptic roundabout blackspot on Friday evening, August 8, killing 19 on the spot
- President William Ruto regretted the bloodbath, directing the relevant authorities to take action against juniors whose negligence might have contributed to the accident
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Kai Eli, a journalist at TUKO.co.ke, brings more than three years of experience covering politics and current affairs in Kenya.
President William Ruto has sanctioned legal action against officers whose apparent negligence might have contributed to a tragic road accident in Kisumu.
Source: Twitter
Mourners travelling in a school bus met their tragic end after the vehicle overturned at the Coptic roundabout blackspot Friday evening, August 8.
Nineteen people perished on the spot.
Seven others died while receiving treatment at the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital.
How William Ruto reacted to Kisumu accident
The president regretted the bloodbath, describing it as "a terrible accident."
Ruto commiserated with the bereaved families, wished a quick recovery for the injured, and asked the bosses in the traffic department to take action against any form of negligence.
Those found to be responsible to be arrested and subjected to justice, Ruto ordered.
"Our prayers are with the victims of the terrible accident that occurred tonight on the Kisumu-Kakamega Highway. May the Almighty give strength to the families to bear the loss. We wish a speedy recovery to the injured. We ask traffic enforcers to act swiftly to bring to book those responsible for any acts of negligence leading to the accident and address all traffic violations to ensure road safety across the country," the president tweeted.
The president's directive comes in the face of 43 accident deaths within three days.
Accidents in Nakuru, Kajiado counties
On Thursday, August 7, nine people were killed in Naivasha.
The victims, employees of Kenya Pipeline, were headed home when their bus was crashed by a cargo train at the Morendant Junction.
Six people died on the spot, with three succumbing to injuries while receiving treatment at the Naivasha Sub-County Hospital; the bodies were booked in the same facility.
On Saturday, August 9, a day after the Kisumu tragedy, eight other people were killed in another road crash in Kitengela.
A Kajiado-bound matatu owned by the Nailepu Sacco collided head-on with a lorry coming from Kajiado town.
Source: Twitter
Isinya Sub-County Police Commander Simon Lomitari confirmed the accident.
He said the lorry was overtaking a vehicle ahead of it when it rammed into the fast-approaching matatu.
Seven people died on the spot, with one succumbing to the injuries while in hospital moments later.
In other tragic news, six people died in a plane crash after a plane operated by AMREF Flying Doctors fell in Mwihoko, Kiambu County, on Thursday, August 7.
Where was AMREF plane flying to?
The aircraft, a Cessna Citation XLS, was headed to Somalia on a medical rescue mission when the accident occurred.
Four occupants of the plane, two pilots, a medical doctor, and a nurse, died on the spot; two others were killed inside the house the plane landed on.
The cause of the accident is yet to be established as the investigators assess the black box, believed to have captured the flight data and the cockpit recordings before the accident.
The plane crashed just three minutes after taking off from Wilson Airport.
Proofreading by Asher Omondi, copy editor at TUKO.co.ke.
Source: TUKO.co.ke
