NAIROBI, Kenya — Several passengers were injured on Tuesday night after a popular public service vehicle (PSV), commonly known as a Manmo matatu, overturned at Muthaiga along Nairobi’s busy Thika Superhighway.
The accident occurred shortly after 10 pm near Muthaiga Primary School, temporarily disrupting traffic as emergency responders and members of the public rushed to assist victims trapped in the wreckage.
Passengers who were on board at the time of the crash accused the driver of reckless driving, claiming he had been speeding from Nairobi’s central business district despite repeated warnings from commuters.
According to eyewitness accounts, the driver allegedly began driving dangerously shortly after departing Moi Avenue near the former Clarion Hotel area. Several passengers reportedly raised concerns over his speed and manner of driving, but their complaints were ignored.
“Our Manmo car overturned at Muthaiga Primary School. The driver had been speeding right from Moi Avenue despite several complaints from passengers. We ended up hitting a bolt, and the vehicle overturned a few metres away,” one passenger said.
Videos and photographs circulating online showed bystanders gathering at the scene to help rescue passengers as emergency teams worked to evacuate the injured.
Authorities had not released an official statement by Wednesday morning, and the exact number of those injured remained unclear. There were also no immediate reports of fatalities.
The incident adds to growing concerns over road safety involving public transport vehicles in Nairobi and other urban centres. It comes barely two weeks after another matatu overturned along Enterprise Road in the city’s Industrial Area, injuring several passengers in what emergency responders described as a mass-casualty incident.
In that June 3 crash, witnesses similarly blamed reckless driving, alleging that some passengers were hanging outside the vehicle moments before the driver lost control. The Kenya Red Cross responded by deploying emergency teams to provide first aid and facilitate the evacuation of the injured.
Road safety remains a major public concern in Kenya despite ongoing enforcement efforts by the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA). The authority has, in recent years, intensified crackdowns targeting reckless PSV operators through vehicle inspections, driver re-testing programmes, crew suspensions, and impoundment of non-compliant vehicles.
As investigations begin, attention is expected to focus on whether driver negligence, mechanical failure, or other factors contributed to the accident.
The injured passengers were rushed to nearby medical facilities for treatment as authorities worked to clear the scene and restore normal traffic flow along one of Nairobi’s busiest transport corridors.
