The death toll in the deadly Nithi accident that occurred on Sunday afternoon has hit 33. This is after 9 more people were confirmed dead overnight, raising the number of victims from 24.
The Nithi accident involved a Modern bus that was traveling from Meru to Nairobi. The bus had the registration of KCF 614U.
According to eye witnesses, this bus appeared to have lost its brakes as it went down the Nithi slope that is labeled as a black spot.
Following this accident, it has now emerged that this bus had been toying with death for a long time. Complaints about its condition and how it was handled by its operators had been raised and brought to the attention of the Modern Coast Bus Company.
One of these complaints was from Andrew Maranga who had previously raised alarm that “a Modem Coast Malindi bound bus had broken down leaving them stuck on their way.” The bus was registered as KCF 614U, same as the bus that had the accident on Sunday, July 24, 2022.
Traffic advocacy social media handle, M3Route, had also reckoned that Modern Coast needed to take the bus KCF 614U out if the road before it was too kate. “This bus should not be on the road,” it had stated.
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Yet another complaint by Michael Obonyo regarding this bus was made from Nakuru County. “Modern Bus Reg: KCF 614U driver repeatedly hooted loudly in traffic jam in Nakuru despite protests from other motorists,” complained Obonyo.
These complaints have further raised suspicions that the bus might either have been recklessly driven or it was not roadworthy.
A video from 2016 has also emerged on social media. The video shows a Modern Coast bus hurtling down the Nithi slope on the long side of the lane. It was however not immediately clear if this was the same bus that had accident in July 2022.
