Not less than 47 passengers barely escaped death when a bus they were traveling burst into flames flames on Wednesday morning.
The Mombasa bound 51-seater Simba Coach bus burst into flames at Ivingoni, Kibwezi subcounty at dawn.
Makueni county police commander Joseph Napeiyan confirmed the incident but congratulated the driver for his swift actions.
“The driver pulled off the bus from the road immediately, They all got out of the bus safely and removed their luggage before the fire spread and consumed the whole vehicle,” Napeiyan said.
This comes a mere 20 days after the sons of the driver of the bus that crashed in Kericho County killing over 50 passengers say their father had informed them that the brakes were faulty.
Mr Johnson Chogo said that his father complained he was being forced to use more energy in engaging the brakes and was considering quitting.
“On the fateful morning as he left home for work, he told me the bus’ brakes were faulty. He was hesitant to continue with the job because the management was not keen on fixing the problem,” Mr Chogo said. “That was the last we talked until we heard about the accident.”
Officials later revealed that the ill-fated bus that crashed at Fort Ternan in Kericho County killing 56 people did not have a speed governor. The Speed Governors and Road Safety Association has said inspection of the wrecked bus showed it lacked the device, which is a requirement for all public transport vehicles.
56 passengers lost their lives and 15 others were seriously injured when the bus which was traveling from Nairobi to Kisumu veered off the road and landed on a rocky farm in Fort Ternan, Kericho County.
Do you believe the Authorities are doing their best in cracking down unroadworthy vehicles? or better still are they doing anything to improve the situation on our roads?