Brian Safari, an agriculture student, who was to take the trip, said he cancelled after he fell ill.
"I was on the journey, but on the last preparation, I fell ill, so I decided to remain behind. I thank God, and I wish my colleagues a quick recovery,'' Safari said.
The midday accident occurred 10 kilometres from Naivasha town after the bus rammed into the rear of the matatu.
Both vehicles veered off the road and landed in a ditch, killing eight on the spot. The other victims were pronounced dead on arrival at Naivasha sub-county hospital.
Witnesses said the speeding bus whose brakes seemed to have failed kept hooting and flashing its lights before hitting the matatu that had slowed down on the highway.
At the scene, screams rent the air as members of the public and police moved in to rescue tens of students trapped in the wreckage.
According to Naivasha OCPD Samuel Waweru, the full bus was ferrying the students to Eldoret for college games.
Brake failure
Speaking on phone, he said that initial investigations indicated that the bus's brakes failed and it hit a matatu that had 14 passengers.
"We have so far lost 16 people to the accident and over 50 are undergoing treatment at the Naivasha sub-county hospital while the bodies have been taken to the mortuary," he said.
A witness, James Gikonyo, narrated how the speeding bus missed several cars on the highway by a whisker before hitting the matatu.
He said the impact caused the two vehicles to veer off the road and land in a ditch.
"The bus was going at a high speed and kept hooting before hitting the Nissan matatu and as a result, many people have died," he said.
Former Lakeview MCA Simon Wanyoike noted that the section of the road had become a black-spot with six accidents reported in the last two months.
He blamed a recently constructed drainage for the deaths, noting that they had called the agency responsible to cover it but their pleas had fallen on deaf ears.
"The contractor left the drainage open and this has turned out to be the killer point, including today's incident where we have lost 16 people," he said. Another witness Ruth Wambui said that only a child was saved from the matatu which was on its way to Nakuru.
"The university bus caused the accident after the driver lost control and crashed into the matatu before landing in a ditch," she said.
Other witnesses Ruth Ngina and Nickson Musalia called for the expansion of the road, noting that fatal accidents around the area were on the rise.
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