Fresh details have emerged about the driver of the Homeboyz bus that killed 55 people at Fort Ternan in the wee hours of Wednesday morning.
According to multiple sources, the driver was a man only identified as Lucas and was 72 years old. Sources also revealed that Lucas had driven the vehicle from Kisumu to Nairobi during the day, arriving in the city at 5pm.
He had no reliever as required by law. This means that fatigue and sleep could have set in and caused the accident despite the fact that the driver was familiar with the route.
“I was with the driver at 11 o’clock before I left the bus station for home; he is my friend,” said Simon Waweru, who picks up would-be-passengers from the roadside and directs them to the buses.
Mr Waweru estimated the driver he knows only by the name Lucas was in his 60s, plied the route and, to his knowledge, hardly ever drank alcohol. At the scene of the accident, the bus owner, Cleophas Shimanyula, later said Lucas was 72 years and had worked for the bus company for seven years.
According to National Transport and Safety Authority curriculum for training of drivers, only drivers above 30 can drive vehicles carrying more than 33 passengers. Minibuses carrying 14 to 32 travellers can be driven only by those older than 25.
“All individuals above 60 are required to undergo an annual medical fitness test before they renew their driving licences,” the NTSA says.
It, however, does not say how long this should go on, and at what age drivers should stop being behind the wheel, effectively leaving this to the discretion of the drivers and the vehicle owners.
Mr Jackson Koskei, the first person at the scene, said the accident happened shortly after 4:00AM a few meters from his home. He painted a heart-wrenching, bloody picture and the overwhelming sight of bodies scattered all over with a few survivors writhing in pain and calling out for help.
“When I heard the bang, I just knew it was yet another accident. I rushed to the scene and, amid the confusion, one survivor (a man) who was seated asked me for water, another woman a few feet away was crying out for help as were others. I chose to first assist a four-year-old boy who was bleeding profusely from the forehead,” said Mr Koskei.
Soon, villagers thronged the scene to help the police in evacuation. According to Mr Daniel Kipchumba, eight of the bodies they carried from the scene were of children below the age of five.