THE 178km stretch of road between Okahandja and Otjiwarongo has claimed more than 20 lives this year alone, making it one of the deadliest roads in the country.
Between 28 April and 1 May, 17 people were killed on this part of the B1 main road. In the latest carnage, 10 people were burnt beyond recognition on Sunday when the minibus they were travelling in collided with a bakkie. All five people in the bakkie also died on the spot. Two others died on the same stretch of road on Monday evening.
This is the same stretch that claimed the life of the former fisheries permanent secretary Uitala Hiveluah last November, and the president of the Mineworkers Union of Namibia (MUN), Raimo Hausiku.
Just last month, youth minister Jerry Ekandjo’s driver, Jafet Amakati, was also killed on this road when the government car he was driving collided with another car.
Most of the accidents on this stretch of road appear to occur closer to Okahandja than to Otjiwarongo.
As with Sunday’s horrific mass deaths, the incidence of mass casualties on this stretch is not uncommon. In 2012, 10 people died in a crash just 10km outside Okahandja.
The accident that killed Hiveluah also claimed the lives of five others on 11 November 2016. This happened about 50km outside Okahandja.
In September 2016, six people died on the spot when two cars collided at the 33km mark north of Okahandja, while a bus and truck collision on 28 January 2014, 25km outside Okahandja, killed seven people. An accident on the same road also claimed four lives in two different accidents a day apart in early April this year.
Motor Vehicle Accident Fund CEO Rosalia Martins-Hausiku said the Otjozondjupa region has the second highest crash and fatality rates, especially on the road between Okahandja and Otjiwarongo.
She said while the causes of the accidents are multifaceted, drunk driving, speeding, animal collisions and mechanical failures can be considered as the most common causes.
“Vehicle congestion during long weekends have become a problem as drivers become impatient and overtake where and when they are not supposed to do so,” Martins-Hausiku said.
She said the fund has paid N$160 million in medical bills for accident survivors for the 2016/17 financial year, which is the highest amount ever paid.
In an update on Sunday’s horror crash, police spokesperson Kauna Shikwambi said the names of the deceased cannot be released as the remains of those who burned in the Iveco bus have not been identified yet.
Police and the MVA Fund are urging road users to practise caution as the high number of crashes on this particular stretch of road has become highly alarming.
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