The wreckage of a matatu that colluded with a lorry on the Thika-Garissa highway last Sunday night. [Photo|Daily Nation]
Thika Town Member of Parliament Partrick Wainaina has blamed the police and National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) for the Thika-Garissa highway accident which up to now has claimed 18 lives.
Wainaina, speaking to Inooro FM, said he did not understand how the 14-seater matatu managed to pass several roadblocks without being stopped for overloading and speeding.
Fresh details indicate the ill-fated vehicle had 22 passengers onboard.
"It is a shame that we lost lives through sheer carelessness and police laxity," he said.
The MP said NTSA, which is mandated to ensure safety in the roads, had failed to curb carnage.
He took issue with the agency's officers who are said that minutes after the accident, they went to Thika Level Five Hospital to collect information on the accident, instead of rushing to the scene to secure those trapped inside the wreckage.
"How does viewing the dead or those injured help NTSA? What is the authority doing to reduce the deaths?" the legislator posed.
Wainaina called for stricter enforcement of the 'Michuki rules' to tame rising cases of road carnage across the country.