Kenyan bus company Easy Coach has been dealt a blow in its appeal contesting a Court order requiring it to pay Sh2.7 million to the family of an accident victim.
Justice William Musyoka upheld the decision of a lower court that had awarded Ambrose Jumbo Loka and Henry Charles Tsuma Sh2,766,544 for the loss of Josephine Weyanga Tsuma.
The primary school teacher was killed in 2015 along the Kakamega-Mumias road when a bus belonging to Easy Coach allegedly run over a motorcycle. Josephine was a pillion passenger.
Loka and Tsuma had sought compensation on account of injuries they had sustained in the April 13, 2015 traffic accident at Joyland.
They alleged that bus driver Benedictor Nyangaresi “negligently and without any due care and regard drove the bus, causing it to lose control and run over the passenger who sustained fatal injuries.”
But in an appeal in 2017, Easy Coach and the driver argued that the magistrate erred in awarding Tsuma and Loka Sh2,766,544 as compensation, saying the amount was inordinately high, unmerited, unjustified, disproportionate, excessive and unreasonable.
Sitting in Kakamega, Justice Musyoka dismissed the appeal and upheld the earlier court ruling saying;
“I am not persuaded the trial court fell into any serious error in assessing damages under the Law Reform and the Fatal Accident Acts. I see no reason to disturb the same as it is not unreasonable in the circumstances. The deceased was survived by three minors and a widower and thus the ratio applied by the learned magistrate is proper.”
“I am not persuaded the appellants have established a case for me to interfere with the judgment of the trial court in their favour. Each party shall bear their own costs.”
The deceased, who was only 33, had four dependants. She was a P1 teacher earning a basic monthly salary of Sh19,323.
