Man squashed to death by hit-and-run Umoinner matatu
There were conflicting reports of how a young man met his death on Saturday night in Umoja Innercore in a incident involving one matatu from the Umoinner Sacco fleet that ply the Umoja-town route.
The scene of the accident was a grisly sight with the victim – a young probably in his early 20s – lying facing downwards on the tarmac in a pool of blood with his brain matter popping out of his smashed head.
According to eye witnesses, there was a scuffle in the matatu and the next thing they had was a loud bang as the speeding matatu run over the victim.
It is not clearly whether the victim slipped and fell or if he was pushed out of the moving matatu in the 11pm incident. The matatu did not stop.
According to one of the Sacco supervisors, the matatu crew drove are suspected to have driven away for their own safety in the aftermath of the incident.
“UMOKILLER”
The accident attracted a big crowd with motorcycle operator who do business in the area barricading the road because the body was lying in the middle of the road.
This is not the first time that one of the Umoinner Sacco matatu’s has caused an accident and ran away. Area residents have even nicknamed the matatus “Umokiller” because of their reputation for causing accidents.
In October 2013, the government temporarily suspended the operating license of the Sacco after more than a dozen people when a matatu belonging to the sacco was hit by a train in Mutindwa near Buruburu.
Residents of Umoja, Innercore and Tena have in the past appealed to the government to intervene and curb the menace that the fleet of matatus in the sacco are infamous for.
Traffic snarl ups occasioned by total disregard of the highway code by these matatus is a common scenario around Mutindwa at rush hour, with traffic police officer manning the junction seemingly indifferent to the situation.