Haji goes after fabricator, insurer of Fort Ternan accident bus

What remained of the Fort Ternan killer bus. [Denish Ochieng, Standard]

The firms that built and insured the bus in Fort Ternan deadly accident now face prosecution if found culpable.

This is after the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Noordin Haji directed Inspector General of Police Joseph Boinnet to investigate the companies over the accident that left 58 dead.

"Investigation should be carried to ascertain why they insured motor vehicle registration No. KBX 092J- Isuzu bus despite the obvious 'defaults' of the bus and also whether the insurance company is financially sound to meet its obligations," Haji told Boinnet in a letter dated November 8.

The body builder of the bus will also be investigated to determine if they built the ill-fated bus as per the specifications.

Initial investigations into the October 10, 2018 crash saw the bus owner Bernard Ishindu Shitiabayi and the Director Western Cross Express Company Limited Cleophas Shimanyula arrested.

The duo was charged before a Molo Chief Magistrate Court on October 22.

They faced charges of permitting an un-roadworthy bus to operate over a long distance at night without the necessary travel license contrary to the NTSA laws and owning a Sacco or a fleet of vehicles but failing to register the names of the driver and conductor which is against the laws stipulated in section 111(3) of the traffic Act.

Ishindu faced a third charge of allowing the bus to operate without a speed governor.

Shimanyula and Ishindu denied the charges and have since been released on Sh5 million bond.

The prosecution did not object their release on bond citing that investigations into the matter have been concluded.

Their case will be heard on November 28, 2018.?