At least 50 people were killed when their bus left the road and rolled down a slope in western Kenya, a police official said Wednesday.
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| This bus crashed near Kericho in western Kenya on Wednesday, leaving 50 dead. |
Around 15 survivors from the bus that was headed from the capital, Nairobi, to the western town of Kakamega were receiving treatment at a hospital in Kericho, Rift Valley regional police boss Francis Munyambu said.
The crash occurred at around 4 a.m. local time and seven children were among the dead, he said.
"The information we have is that the driver lost control," James Mugera, Kericho County police commander, told The Associated Press.
The bus was not licensed to operate at night and its owners will faces charges, regional traffic police boss Zero Arome said. "It is very unfortunate what has happened and action will be taken."
Road accidents on the rise
Kenya has struggled to reduce the rising number of road accidents as more people in the growing middle class acquire vehicles.
According to government statistics, around 3,000 Kenyans die every year in road accidents. In the 2015 Global Status Report on Road Safety, the World Health Organization said Kenyan roads are among the most dangerous in the world, claiming 29.1 lives per 100,000 people.
In 2013, the government reintroduced breathalyzers but had to remove them again after court orders barred police from charging drivers based on readings from the devices.
In an article for the Elephant online publication in November, commentator Patrick Gathara criticized the government's "knee-jerk responses such as the banning of night buses, enforcement of speed limits, seat-belts and speed governors on public transport vehicles.
"Reactionary legal measures are quickly announced in the aftermath of a particularly horrific crash, with little research, forethought or long-term planning, and just as quickly forgotten," Gathara wrote.
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