Homeboyz bus which killed 55 in Kericho converted into lorry, retains same number plate

On Monday, July 13, Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparanya posted on his official Twitter page a picture of himself flagging off a lorry at a site in Shinyalu, Kakamega County, where a water project worth Ksh90 million is to be put-up.

Keen Kenyans,
however, raised concerns after noticing that the heavy commercial vehicle’s
registration plate — KBX 092J — is identical to that of Homeboyz bus, which
killed at least 55 people on October 10, 2018 in Fort Ternan, Kericho County.

It has now emerged
that the owner of the bus, Cleophas Shimanyula, applied to change the particulars
of the killer vehicle, an Isuzu FVR.

Records from NTSA,
which K24 Digital has obtained, show
that on June 11, 2019 Shimanyula applied to change the particulars of the ill-fated
bus.

Shimanyula listed
four particulars that he wished to change, with the registration plate — KBJ 092J
— remaining valid. The four particulars he wanted changed included: body type
from bus to lorry, colour from red to grey, number of passengers from 62 to
three and the tax class from PSV to commercial.

For change of class
fee, Shimanyula paid Ksh300, for change of body colour, he parted with Ksh300,
for change of body type, the vehicle owner paid Ksh300, for change of the
particulars on logbook, he paid Ksh500 and a convenience fee of Ksh50, all
totaling to Ksh1, 450, NTSA records show.

The applications were approved on January 17, 2020.

(Additional reporting by Baraka Karama)