Two accidents, same matatu: Concern over this coffin on wheels

This matatu seems to spend more time on its side than upright.

Kenyan matatu commuters have been treated to a peculiar case of déjà vu after the same matatu that reportedly overturned along Langata Road, killing four in 2016, was involved in yet another accident.

The matatu, registration number KCG 784M, under the flagship of Wamasaa Investment Sacco overturned along Namanga Road, Kitengela, while reportedly trying to overlap. Luckily, no deaths were reported in the Thursday incident.

The matatu was involved in an almost similar, albeit fatal accident in September 2016, where four commuters lost their lives as six others were injured in the accident that police attributed to speeding.

The killer matatu, then at Ongata Line Sacco and plying the Ongata Rongai route, was reportedly banned off Kenyan roads but, as it may appear, was only refurbished and switched hands and routes.

The Ongata Line Sacco was temporarily struck off the register by the government following the 2016 accident but in a letter to the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) dated September 9, 2016, the company claimed to have “put our house in order.”

The sacco, in the said letter, claimed to have withdrawn the vehicle’s Road Service Licence (RSL) – among three others – but could not completely ban them off the road because their “owners owe us millions of shillings which we stood as guarantors when they applied for the loans (finance from the banks), some have comprehensive insurance which was paid for by the company.”

Then Nairobi Traffic commandant Leonard Katana was quoted by a local news outlet saying the driver of the vehicle during the 2016 incident was arrested, after going into hiding for a few days, and arraigned at Kibera Law Courts and charged with the four deaths.

It took a hawk-eyed Kenyan to notice it was the same matatu.

A case of misfortune, driver incompetence or what? First it rolled over along Langata Road killing a few people while under ongataline Sacco years later its back in the road n the this time rolls over again while operating under Wamasaa Invest @Ma3Route @ntsa_kenya #ifikienani pic.twitter.com/RCjJg6I9rS

— Njambi Mugo (@NjambiMugo4) May 9, 2018

It remains to be seen what action will be taken against the vehicle this time round.