20 escape death after riders set bus ablaze

The shell of Otange Service bus set ablaze in Homa Bay town yesterday. At least 20 passengers narrowly escaped death. [Photo: James Omoro|Standard]

At least 20 passengers narrowly escaped death when a bus in which they were travelling was torched by rowdy boda boda riders yesterday.

The Otange Bus Service vehicle was set a blaze by boda boda operators over claims that it had caused an accident that involved their colleague and his passenger.

The incident occurred minutes after the bus arrived in the town from Nairobi.

The bus driver stopped at a petrol station along the Homa Bay-Rongo road so that one of his passengers could alight when a boda boda rider rammed the vehicle from behind with his passenger. The rider and his passenger were taken to Homa Bay County Referral Hospital.

Other boda boda operators in the area got angry and set the bus on fire.

“They first deflated the tyres before one of them used petrol drawn from motorcycle engines to light the fire,” an eyewitness said.

Passengers scampered for safety as the bus burned, said the eye witness.

Some of the passengers had to flee the fire through the bus windows.

“The riders and the bus operators engaged in a verbal exchange before the bus was set aflame,” the witness added.

“The motorcycle hit the back of the bus before the rider and passenger fell from the motorbike. The rider failed to notice that the vehicle had stopped,” another witness said.

Homa Bay OCPD Esau Ochorokodi said the boda boda rider and his passenger suffered injuries on their heads.

He said passengers who were injured while escaping from the bus were also taken to the hospital.

“We are investigating the incident to take legal measures against culprits in the incident,” said Mr Ochorokodi.

The police boss said they were looking for motorcyclists who ran away after committing the heinous act.

A number of passengers lost their property in the fire.

At the same time, angry boda boda riders in Isiolo town have protested against the  killing of their members by armed robbers.

The riders had hours of stand-off with the police following the killing of their colleague on Friday night by a lone armed robber who shot him dead and stole his motorbike.

The unidentified young man, according to his colleagues, was hired by a ‘client’ to be taken towards Airport side at around 10.30 pm but never came back to the stage.

"He was shot dead at Kiwanjani area near the airport. His motorbike, phone and money were stolen by the attacker," said a rider who only identified himself as Guyo.

On Saturday, the riders defied the police and buried the slain man.