•Kindiki announced the immediate commencement of a nationwide crackdown to curb road accidents.
•The CS noted that deaths from road accidents are competing with those of serious epidemics.
Image: The Star
Kenya has recorded 1,926 road accidents in the first two months of 2024, which translates to 32.1 road crashes daily.
This compared to 1,503 in a similar period in 2023 is a 28 percent increase.
Revealing the data, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki on Thursday stated that in the same period, 4,608 victims were involved in the accidents out of which 763 fatalities.
This is from January 1 to February 29, 2024.
From the data, it was noted that 255 deaths from motorcycle-related accidents
Expressing concern, the CS noted that every year, Kenya is losing more lives through traffic accidents than we have lost in terrorism and banditry in the history of our country.
"This is unacceptable. Road traffic accidents is a National catastrophe that has been ignored for long and we must do everything possible to deal with it. It is actually a serious national security threat," Kindiki added.
He was speaking while appearing before the Departmental Committee on Transport and Infrastructure.
In addition to that, the CS revealed that road traffic crashes are costing upto 9 percent of Kenya's GDP annually, which is almost equivalent to Sh300 billion annually.
Early this week, Kindiki had 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.
As a result, Kindiki announced the immediate commencement of a nationwide crackdown to curb road accidents.
The CS said the crackdown will target all unroadworthy vehicles (private, public, institutional), drivers, riders, and pedestrians.
The CS directed law enforcement agencies across the country to immediately develop and implement a nationwide program for Traffic Law enforcement to stem the devastating tide of deaths and injuries arising from road traffic accidents.
"We must obey traffic rules, we must all work together and clean our roads from all manner of rogue road users who are careless," Kindiki said.
"It's up to Kenyans to save ourselves because these deaths are too much and premature."
The program will be run concurrently by the Traffic Department of the Kenya Police Service and the National Transport Safety Authority.