Londiani: 47 Injured After 62-Seater Bus Overturns, Veers Off Highway

47 passengers have been injured following an accident along Londiani-Muhoroni Road in Kericho County where a 62-seater bus veered off the highway and landed in a ditch.

The Kenya Red Cross was the first to report the incident on Friday, December 22 revealing that the incident had occurred at 8.00 in the morning.

"A road traffic incident involving a 62-seater bus has been reported along Londiani - Muhoroni Road, Kericho County. Response teams have been activated," Kenya Red Cross' accident alert read.

Slightly more than two hours later, officers from the Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) were deployed to the scene of the accident and took the injured to Fort Tenan Sub-County Hospital.

Ambulances from Emergency Plus Services. /FILE

The Red Cross medics on the scene worked in partnership with the Kericho County Government to evacuate the injured, with seven people escaping without injuries.

"Forty-seven injured individuals have been swiftly taken to Fort Tenan Sub County Hospital by the County Government.

"Additionally, seven people escaped unharmed. The scene has been cleared by the Kenya Police," read Kenya Red Cross' update.

A photo shared by the NGO showed the bus had landed on its left-hand side with pockets of debris strewn all over the ditch and a section of police officers, as well as passers-by, glancing at the scene in horror.

Londiani has seen one of the worst accidents this year where more than 55 people died, most notably at the end of June 2023 when a trailer ran over a matatu and traders along the Nairobi-Nakuru Highway.

Following the accident, Transport Cabinet Secretary (CS) Kipchumba Murkomen announced a series of changes in the transport sector to cut down on the frequency of road accidents in the country.

He directed the mandatory installation of dashboard cameras across all Public Service Vehicles (PSVs) as well as school buses and vans as well as for the vehicles to be fitted with telematics.

"Telematics will have a GPS system showing where a vehicle will be at any particular time, it will have a black box recorder that will be transmitting the speed of every vehicle at every time. 

"It will show the location of every vehicle and show when and who maintained the vehicle. It will show where the vehicle was serviced and who serviced the vehicle," he stated.

Latest Accident Statistics

On Monday, December 18, CS Murkomen confirmed that 3,999 people died in road accidents between January and December 7, 2023, a reduction number from the 4,352 recorded within the same period in 2022.

"Notably, the reduction in deaths coincided with a concerning increase in the number of seriously injured individuals, suggesting that more work needs to be done to improve road safety.