The Road Transport and Safety Agency (RTSA) says it will take appropriate action against Kapena Bus Services for defying the provisions of the Statutory Instrument (SI) No 76 which restricts the movement of Public Service Vehicles (PSV) at night.

In a statement today, RTSA Head of Public Relations Frederick Mubanga said in its preliminary investigations, the agency established that the operator (Kapena Bus Services) had on several instances been warned and impounded for violating the law.

“The Road Transport and Safety Agency (RTSA) has recorded a Road Traffic Accident in which 17 people have died in Luangwa. According to preliminary investigation conducted by the RTSA, the accident involving a Kapena Bus Services Registration Number ABP 6303 which was heading to Chipata, Eastern Province failed to negotiate a curve and lost control,” Mubanga said.

“It has been established that the driver and the operator defied the provisions of the Statutory Instrument (SI) No. 76 which restricts the movement of Public Service Vehicles (PSV) at night. It has further been established that Kapena Bus Services has on several occasions been operating outside the provisions of the SI No. 76 and the Agency has on several instances warned and impounded the operator for violating the law.”

Mubanga however called on the traveling public to report any violators of the law to avoid road accidents.

“The Agency will take appropriate action concerning the operator who is supposed to ensure that the buses or fleet team operate within the provisions of the law. The RTSA is further calling upon the traveling public to report such violations to avoid road traffic accidents and should refuse to be commuted outside the approved driving hours under the law,” said Mubanga.

This was after a road traffic accident involving Kapena Bus Services which claimed 17 lives and injured 48 others in Luangwa.