The National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) has urged the government to declare road traffic crashes a national disaster, citing the deaths of more than 5,000 people annually and the growing strain on families, hospitals and the economy.
The authority said Kenya records about 20,000 road crashes every year, describing the toll as a national emergency requiring urgent government intervention.
NTSA Director General said declaring road crashes a national disaster would help mobilise government action, secure adequate funding and coordinate enforcement efforts across different sectors.
The proposed declaration would bring together road agencies, the National Police Service, the health sector and county governments under a coordinated framework with clear accountability and measurable targets.
The authority said a whole-of-government approach was necessary to reduce fatalities and serious injuries, while ensuring that institutions responsible for road safety work towards shared objectives.
“Road safety is not just a transport issue; it is a national development and security priority,” the authority said.
NTSA said the ultimate goal was to save lives, protect families and safeguard the country's human capital by preventing avoidable road deaths and injuries.
The proposal comes amid continuing concerns over the human and economic cost of road crashes, including the burden on health facilities treating injured victims and the loss of productivity associated with deaths and serious injuries.
The authority called for collective support for measures aimed at preventing further loss of life, saying coordinated government action could help avert the growing crisis.
On Sunday, twenty-two people were confirmed dead, and several others injured following a head-on collision involving a bus and a lorry along the Nairobi-Mombasa highway.
The accident occurred at around 7 am on Sunday in the Kanga area, past Mtito Andei, according to officials.
The crash brought traffic to a standstill along the busy highway as travellers and passersby gathered near the scene.
Makueni County Commissioner Abdullahi Khalif confirmed the deaths, saying several other passengers sustained injuries in the collision.
The bus was reportedly ferrying passengers returning from a burial ceremony when it collided head-on with the lorry.
The injured were rushed to Mtito Andei Sub-County Hospital, where they are receiving treatment, while the bodies of those who died were taken to the hospital’s mortuary.
Sources told The Star that the casualties were occupants of a bus that was travelling from Mombasa general direction towards Nairobi when the accident occurred in Kanga area, Kibwezi East Sub-County.
Some of the passengers reportedly died on the spot while others succumbed to injuries while being attended to at Mtito Andei Sub-County Hospital.
Mtito Andei Sub-County Hospital Medical Superintendent Dr Kevin Wamalwa said the accident happened between 7 am and 8 am.
"It is a serious accident. We are attending to those who have survived," Wamalwa told reporters.
Wamalwa said he received a phone call about the accident immediately after he got to the facility, some minutes to 8 am.
"We are compiling a list of casualties. Some died while undergoing treatment," Wamalwa said.
The cause of the accident had not been established by the time of publication. The highway is marked as one of the leading causes of fatal accidents in the country.
