At least 60 people lost their lives in road accidents due to drunk driving on the first weekend of reopening of bars across the country.
A report by the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) released on Friday, October 9, indicated that a total of 60 lives were lost between Friday to Sunday, October 4.
The report also indicated that the country has recorded 2,869 deaths between January 1, 2020, and September 30, 2020, indicating an increase of 1.3% from the same period in 2019.
The breakdown revealed that 15 lives were lost on Friday, Saturday recorded 20 deaths while Sunday had the highest number of deaths with 25.
President Uhuru Kenyatta announced the reopening of bars on Monday, September 28, during the Covid-19 conference hosted at Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC).
The move came after over three months of closure when all bars across the country were ordered to shut on Tuesday, July 28 to contain the spread of Covid-19.
Authorities are attributing the spike in cases to drunk driving as revellers rush to beat the 11 p.m curfew after a night of partying.
Founder of Sikika road safety, Daniel Kiilu blamed the accidents on drunk drivers on a rat race to get home in time to avoid being caught outside during curfew hours.
“You find that a drunkard is in the bar drinking and loses track of time so they have to rush to beat the curfew, putting other road users at risk.
“They can do anything so as to avoid being arrested by police, one should never drink when they are behind the wheel,” he explained.
NTSA and the Inspector General of Police Hillary Mutyambai, expressed concern over a spike in accidents, coming soon after Uhuru relaxed curfew rules in the country.
The government revealed it has resorted to re-introducing alcoblow tests in major towns in a bid to control road carnage.
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