Nine people died on the spot in a road accident in the coastal Kilifi County on Sunday.
The police said the accident which happened at around 3 p.m. involved a passenger minibus locally known as matatu and a truck.
Stephen Matu, Rabai divisional police commander said the deceased include five men and four females.
“The injured are being treated at Mariakani Sub County hospital,” he told Xinhua on phone, noting that two children were among the seven injured. Two are in critical condition.
He said that the truck collided head on with the oncoming passenger minibus, killing the nine on the spot.
All the fatalities are passengers of the minibus which was coming from Mombasa, Kenya’s second largest city.
“The accident was caused by over speeding and careless driving,” Matu said.
The authorities expressed concern over the increase in accidents, coming soon after President Uhuru Kenyatta relaxed COVID-19 containment measures including curfew and closure of bars.
The government last month extended the curfew from 9 p.m. to start from 11 p.m. to 4 a.m., with bars now allowed to operate up to 10 p.m.
Road safety enforcers have blamed increased road fatalities on over speeding and drunk driving.
An estimated 3,000 Kenyans die in road accidents annually despite concerted efforts by the state and the private sector to promote safety on the highways, according to the National Transport and Safety Authority.
