The grisly road accident at Londiani junction on the Nakuru-Kericho highway, which has claimed 52 lives as of midday today, has left many Kenyans with unanswered questions.

The horrific accident occurred when a truck travelling from Nakuru to Kericho lost control and rammed into several matatus, private vehicles and motorcycles before landing in a ditch.

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Hawkers selling their wares at the Muhoroni turn-off were not spared in the late-night accident, which left families, relatives and friends of the deceased in a sombre mood.

Mtaa Wangu has discovered that this is not the first time an accident of this magnitude has occurred in Londiani.

In June 2018, five people died while seven others were seriously injured after the matatu they were travelling in collided with a truck at Chebiwor. The five passengers died on the spot in the Sunday morning accident.

The dead included three women and two men.

In the same year, on August 14, one person died while eight others sustained serious injuries after a matatu they were travelling in crashed near Kap David trading centre.

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The incident occurred after the driver of the Nakuru-bound matatu lost control of the vehicle, which veered off the road before overturning in a ditch.

On September 1, 2021, three people were killed in a night-time road accident involving a 14-seater matatu and a track in Jubat.

The accident was reported to have occurred barely a week after six people were killed at the same spot.

On July 1, 2022, an accident involving a matatu occurred at Mau Summit, Londiani Junction in Kericho County.

The matatu reportedly lost control and overturned several times, killing four passengers on the spot while the remaining five were rushed to Londiani Sub-County Hospital.

The story is no longer about the 21km stretch from Salgaa trading centre to Sachangwan on the Nakuru-Eldoret Highway, which has been the worst accident black spot for decades.

However, the script is changing as Londiani is now proving to be another black spot that Kenyans need to watch out for and be cautious while using the route.

Business hub

Due to its strategic location, Londiani has become a business hub thanks to the growing infrastructure in the area. The construction of the Nakuru-Muhoroni-Kisumu road has attracted small-scale traders.

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Even as political leaders mourn with families who lost loved ones in Friday's accident, Londiani, 64 kilometres from Nakuru, is an area that needs to be relooked at in terms of road safety to avert similar accidents.

Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen, speaking after visiting the scene of the accident on Saturday morning, said the government is working on a plan to relocate roadside markets.

Majority of those who died were traders, their customers and Bodaboda drivers who had parked on the roadside.

"We are ready as a ministry to provide access roads to the markets, entry and exit routes to the market so that people who come to buy produce can go in and avoid such disasters," CS Murkomen said.

pmambili@gmail.com

Londiani accident: Why the Junction is becoming the new blackspot of the Nakuru-Kericho highway

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Pristone Mambili