The ill fated Maumba Accident Matatu before the Accident. 
By Andrew Mbuva.
SEMA Stage Minibus Owners SACCO Society Limited has clarified details surrounding the fatal matatu accident in Katulye, Kalembwani, Makueni County, confirming that 46 people were aboard the vehicle when it crashed, contrary to earlier reports suggesting a higher number.
The clarification follows confusion over the number of passengers involved after some of the injured were treated at Matiliku Sub-County Hospital before being transferred to Makueni Referral Hospital.
In an official statement dated August 15, the SACCO said the matatu, registration number KCF 258Y, commonly known as Nidhamu, left Nthongoni in Kibwezi East at about 3pm on August 14, carrying passengers travelling to Katulye, Kalembwani, in Nzakika Ward.
The SACCO specifically clarified that the patients treated at Matiliku Sub-County Hospital and later transferred to Makueni Referral Hospital were part of the same group of passengers and should not be counted as additional victims.
“Following communication with the leader of the group that was travelling, we have harmonized the records and confirmed that the total number of persons aboard the matatu at the time of the accident was 46,” the SACCO said.
The clarification comes amid varying accounts of the number of people who were in the ill-fated matatu at the time of the crash.
According to the SACCO, seven passengers—six males and one female—lost their lives in the accident, while 28 others were attended to at Matiliku Sub-County Hospital and subsequently referred to Makueni Referral Hospital for further treatment.
The SACCO said eight patients remain admitted at Makueni Referral Hospital and are responding well to treatment.
On the circumstances of the accident, the SACCO said the vehicle encountered a steep and rough section of road in Katulye that was difficult to navigate.
The driver reportedly instructed the crew to ask passengers to alight so that he could manoeuvre the vehicle and park at a safe point. However, while passengers were alighting, the vehicle began moving forward down the steep section before it could be safely parked.
It then lost control, descended the hill uncontrollably and eventually landed in a ditch.
The SACCO expressed its condolences to the families, relatives and friends of the seven people who lost their lives in the tragedy.
