Churches hold special prayers to sanctify Kilimambogo crash scene, call for caution on the roads.

Church leaders led by Bishop Moses Mbugua of the Redeemed Gospel Church Thika (in red shirt) on Thursday holding an interdenominational prayer service at the spot where at least 20 people perished in a grisly road on Sunday night. 

Various church leaders in Kiambu yesterday held an interdenominational prayer service at the spot where at least 20 people perished in a grisly road involving a lorry and a KINATWA 14-seater matatu near Kolping Educational Training Centre, Kilimambogo.

Led by Bishop Moses Mbugua of the Redeemed Gospel Church Thika, the leaders called on all agencies to be vigilant and curb road carnage especially during this festive season when some PSV drivers have thrown caution out of the window in pursuit for quick money.

Bishop Mbugua reckoned that it was unfortunate that people had to lose lives for mistakes not of their own especially out of the drivers’ recklessness and over-speeding.

“As the church we rebuke the spirit of death and especially those caused by drivers over-speeding and not being mindful of the lives aboard their vehicles. We also call upon the relevant agencies to be very vigilant and curb unnecessary deaths on our roads. On top of that we have decided to seek for spiritual intervention,” he said.

Thika East DCC Thomas Senkei, called for caution on the roads but warned drivers that the police will not hesitate to take stern action against any driver found flouting road safety rules.

He blamed majority of these accidents on over-speeding in the part of drivers.

Among those present were Ngoliba MCA Joakim Njama and Thika Town MP Patrick Wainaina’s Personal Assistant (PA) John Mwangi Njuguna who also called for caution on the roads.

They promised to approach the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) in order to erect speed bumps on some of the dangerous hotspots along the Thika-Garissa Highway which they claimed had claimed so many lives.

Last Sunday night, 18 people died when a 14-seater PSV matatu rammed onto a lorry killing 11 people on the spot.

(See more: Death toll in Kilimambogo crash rise to 18; relatives flock hospital to check on loved ones.)

The accident, which occurred at around 7pm, is said to have happened when the driver of the KINATWA SACCO matatu KCG 851L tried to avoid hitting a motorcyclist veered off its lane and rammed onto an oncoming Isuzu lorry Reg. No. KAR 343S.

The KINATWA matatu was heading to Kitui from Nairobi direction heading to Kitui.

By midnight, 18 people, who included the matatu driver and ten of his passengers, among them two minors; a boy and a girl had been confirmed dead.

Others casualties were the motorcyclist who caused the accident plus a pedestrian who was caught up in the mix. The truck driver, who was trapped for hours in the cabin, also succumbed to his injuries on arrival at Thika Level 5 Hospital. It took the efforts of the Fire brigade to untrap him from the wreckage.