Families and survivors of the Naivasha road accident that claimed nine lives on Monday have blamed the Ministry of Transport for what they describe as a growing crisis of fatal road accidents across the country.
Speaking as the process of identifying victims began at the Naivasha Sub-County Hospital mortuary, relatives accused authorities of failing to rein in unsafe public service vehicles (PSVs), many of which they say operate at night to evade traffic police checks despite being unroadworthy.
The crash occurred near Karai Centre in Naivasha when a Greenline bus travelling from Western Kenya to Nairobi collided head-on with a matatu. Six adults and three children were killed in the impact.
Among the bereaved is Faith Auma, who lost her three-year-old son. She recounted that passengers repeatedly pleaded with the bus driver to slow down, but he ignored their concerns.
“Several passengers asked the driver to reduce speed, but he said he had a deadline to meet,” Auma said. “He overtook carelessly and rammed into an oncoming matatu. I lost my only child.”
Auma escaped the crash with minor injuries.
Joseph Kundu, who also lost a relative in the accident, said the tragedy reflects a broader failure by the Ministry of Transport to address reckless driving and lax enforcement.
“Accidents are claiming lives every day in this country,” Kundu said. “Speeding and drunk driving among bus drivers have become common, yet nothing decisive is being done.”
He added that the risk is heightened during school reopening periods, when traffic volumes increase.
“We are seeing more accidents now as children travel back to school, but the Ministry has remained silent,” he said.
Another victim’s relative, Gabriel Juma, criticised the effectiveness of crackdowns by the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) and traffic police, saying enforcement efforts have not translated into safer roads.
“Some of these buses are in very poor condition,” Juma said. “That is why they prefer travelling at night, and it is costing lives.”
Augustine Mucheke, who lost his 14-year-old niece in the crash, described the incident as a preventable tragedy.
“This is one of the darkest days of my life,” he said. “I have lost a niece I loved deeply in a road accident that should never have happened.”
The families have renewed calls for stricter enforcement of road safety regulations, thorough inspection of PSVs, and accountability from authorities to stem the rising toll of road accidents in Kenya.
