Five people die in road accidents

Police vehicle ferrying carcases of sheep following a midnight accident which killed an 11-year-old boy and more than 40 sheep along Kitale Lodwar highway. [Bakari Ang'ela, Standard]

An 11-year-old boy and 31 sheep were killed yesterday in a road accident near Lodwar town. 

Turkana County Police Commander Samuel Ndanyi said one cow and 16 sheep were injured while 300 livestock got lost in the melee during the 1am accident as herders were relocating their livestock from Loima to Lolupe. 

The minor was part of a group of herders who were searching for pastures in areas experiencing rains.

Irate residents blocked the Kitale-Lodwar highway to protest the incident and demand for compensation for the loss of livestock. 

In western Kenya, four people died last night after a matatu rammed a stationary truck at Mabanga along the Webuye-Malaba road. 

Three passengers, including the driver of the Bungoma-bound matatu, died on the spot while another commuter died while receiving treatment at Bungoma County Referral Hospital.

Bungoma South Police Commander Benjamin Kimwele said eight survivors are recuperating at the same hospital.

He urged motorists plying the busy highway to drive carefully due to the traffic snarl-up caused by stranded long-distance drivers.