Several Injured After Popular Manmo Matatu Overturns on Thika Superhighway Amid Claims of Reckless Driving
Several passengers were injured on Tuesday night after a public service vehicle (PSV) operated by Manmo SACCO overturned along Nairobi’s busy Thika Superhighway, raising fresh concerns about road safety and reckless driving among some matatu operators.
The accident occurred shortly after 10pm near Muthaiga Primary School, causing a temporary traffic disruption as emergency responders and members of the public rushed to assist victims trapped in the wreckage.
Witnesses and passengers who were aboard the vehicle alleged that the driver had been speeding moments before the crash and ignored repeated pleas from commuters to slow down.
According to passengers, the journey had begun normally from Nairobi’s Central Business District, but concerns emerged shortly after the matatu departed from Moi Avenue when the driver allegedly began driving at high speed.
One passenger recounted the terrifying moments leading up to the accident, claiming that several commuters had voiced their fears over the driver’s conduct.
“Our Manmo car overturned at Muthaiga Primary School. The driver had been speeding right from Moi Avenue near Clarion Hotel despite several complaints from a lady who was sitting beside me. We ended up hitting a bolt, and the bus overturned a few metres away,” the passenger said.
Videos and photographs circulating online showed members of the public gathering at the scene to help evacuate injured passengers before emergency teams arrived. Some victims were seen receiving first aid by the roadside as rescue efforts continued late into the night.
By Wednesday morning, authorities had not yet released an official statement on the crash, and the exact number of passengers injured remained unclear.
The latest incident comes barely two weeks after another matatu overturned along Enterprise Road in Nairobi’s Industrial Area, leaving several passengers injured in what emergency responders described as a mass-casualty incident.
In that June 3 crash, witnesses similarly blamed reckless driving, claiming the 32-seater PSV had been travelling at high speed before the driver lost control. Some passengers were reportedly hanging outside the vehicle moments before the accident occurred.
Emergency teams from the Kenya Red Cross responded to the scene, providing first aid and facilitating the evacuation of victims to nearby hospitals as investigations were launched.
Tuesday night’s crash is likely to reignite debate over road safety standards within the public transport sector, despite ongoing enforcement measures by the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA).
The authority has in recent months intensified operations targeting errant PSV operators through vehicle inspections, driver re-testing programmes, crew suspensions and impoundment of non-compliant vehicles in an effort to reduce road accidents across the country.
Road safety advocates have repeatedly warned that speeding, dangerous overtaking and failure to adhere to traffic regulations remain among the leading causes of serious accidents involving public service vehicles on Kenyan roads.
Investigations into the cause of the Thika Superhighway accident are expected to commence as authorities seek to establish the circumstances that led to the vehicle overturning.
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