Four people killed as matatu rams trailer

By PHILIP MWAKIO

Kenya: Four passengers were killed on Monday night when a matatu they were travelling in rammed into a trailer at Kibarani in Mombasa.

Ten passengers, some in critical condition, were rushed to the Coast Provincial General Hospital (CPGH) following the accident.

Changamwe OCPD Joseph Muthee said the accident happened at around 8pm at the Kibarani black spot.

“A matatu from Miritini that was being driven towards Mombasa crashed into a slow-moving trailer, claiming the lives of three passengers on the spot,” the police chief said yesterday.

Sources at the hospital where the injured were rushed to said another accident victim died while undergoing treatment.

 “I woke up to find myself here. It is sad that the accident happened and people died, including my driver with whom I had worked for only two weeks,” said Ndegwa Mriphe, the matatu conductor who was seriously injured.

Another survivor who was a passenger in the matatu,   Omar Abdalah, blamed the matatu driver for  causing the accident by speeding.

“We were moving fast. The crash occurred as a result of speeding,” said Abdalah whose head was heavily bandaged and arm broken.

According to the trailer driver, Abdulahi Barre, who spoke to The Standard at the Changamwe Police Station where his vehicle had been towed to, his journey to Ifo Camp near Garissa was cut short following the accident.

He said he was transporting 28 metric tonnes of sugar to the camp when the accident happened.

Police have not disclosed the identities of the those who died.