Bungoma magistrate killed in grisly road accident

A magistrate serving in a court in Bungoma was killed Saturday evening after he was hit by a speeding vehicle while attempting to cross the road in Nairobi.

Innocent Masiba was hit by a car on Mombasa Road while leaving Panari Hotel where he had attended a meeting to vote for judges and magistrates’ representatives in the Judicial Service Commission.

The accident came just days after a road safety awareness campaign had been carried out in Nairobi with the aim of addressing the increased instances of crashes and fatalities involving pedestrians on Mombasa and North Airport roads.

At least 58 pedestrians have died since January this year, according to National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA), which is the highest number of road crashes involving pedestrians.

In November, the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) revealed that private cars are the number one cause of deaths on Kenyan roads. Commercial vehicles were second while public vehicles come third.

In September, NTSA reported that about 1,899 lives were lost through road accidents between January and August this year, with 60 percent of these being pedestrian and boda boda riders’ deaths.

The operators of Public Service Vehicles were encouraged to have their matatus checked and validated during this festive month of December when most accidents occur.

NTSA recently blamed matatu operators over the increased cases of road accidents saying this happens when they tamper with speed governors of their vehicles.