Outrage as Riders Burn 65-Seater Bus at Salgaa

The notorious Salgaa black spot along the Nakuru-Mau Summit highway lived up to its grim reputation at midnight on Monday, as a horrific accident escalated into a scene of arson and highway chaos.

A Kampala-bound Mash Poa bus, a 65-seater long-distance cruiser, was reduced to a charred shell after being set ablaze by an angry mob of boda boda riders. The incident followed a fatal collision between the bus and a motorcycle that left the rider dead on impact.

According to eyewitness reports and harrowing footage circulating on social media, the collision occurred in the heart of the Salgaa Trading Centre. While the circumstances leading to the crash remain under investigation, the aftermath was instantaneous.

Within minutes of the impact, a swarm of motorcycle riders descended on the scene. The situation quickly turned volatile as the mob began smashing the bus windows with stones and blunt objects. In a terrifying escalation, the vehicle was doused in fuel and set on fire.

Despite the total destruction of the high-value coach, there was a silver lining: all 65 passengers and the driver managed to evacuate safely. While they escaped physical harm from the flames, many were left traumatized, stranded in the middle of the night as their luggage and personal belongings went up in smoke.

The act of arson has sparked a firestorm of criticism from road safety advocates and motorists’ associations. This incident is the latest in a worrying trend where boda boda operators take the law into their own hands following road accidents.

“We cannot have a country governed by the law of the jungle. Burning a bus worth millions of shillings and endangering dozens of lives is not justice—it is organized crime,” said a representative from a prominent Kenyan motorists’ group.

They are now calling on the National Police Service (NPS) and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to use eyewitness footage to track down and prosecute the arsonists.

The Nakuru-Mau Summit stretch remains one of the most dangerous roads in East Africa. The mix of heavy transit trailers, high-speed passenger buses, and local motorcycle traffic—often under poor lighting conditions—creates a recipe for disaster.

The Salgaa incident has once again placed a spotlight on the urgent need for better regulation of the boda boda sector and enhanced security patrols along Kenya’s major transport corridors.