The government is planning tougher road safety interventions following a fatal crash along the Nairobi-Mombasa Highway that claimed at least 24 lives on Sunday, October 25.
Roads and Transport Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir said the ministry would pursue stronger measures to curb road accidents, working with Parliament, the Judiciary and other stakeholders to improve safety and ensure accountability among road users.
Speaking hours after the crash at Kanga, a few kilometres from Mtito Andei, Chirchir said the government would prioritise improvements to dangerous sections of highways through a strengthened black spot management programme.
The initiative will focus on identifying high-risk road sections and implementing targeted engineering works and infrastructure improvements to reduce the likelihood of accidents.
“We will strengthen the black spot management programme to identify and address high-risk road sections through targeted engineering interventions and other infrastructure improvements,” Chirchir said.
The CS described the recurring loss of lives on Kenyan roads as unacceptable, calling for urgent action to address the country’s road safety challenges.
The latest tragedy follows another fatal accident along the same highway in the Salama area on October 3, which claimed 17 lives at the scene.
“Today’s loss of 22 lives brings the pain and urgency of our road safety crisis into even sharper focus. We cannot continue treating road safety as business as usual,” Chirchir said.
In addition to infrastructure improvements, the ministry plans to intensify traffic enforcement in collaboration with the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) and the police.
The agencies will step up action against dangerous driving, reckless overtaking, speeding and other traffic violations that endanger motorists, passengers and other road users.
Preliminary reports on Sunday’s crash indicated that dangerous overtaking was the suspected cause of the accident.
The planned interventions are intended to address both hazardous road sections and risky driving behaviour as authorities seek to reduce fatalities on major highways across the country.
