79 killed in road accidents in Northern Region

Road accidents and murder have claimed lives of 79 and 47 people, respectively, in the Northern Region between January and June 2017.

This shows an increase as the region recorded 59 deaths due to road accidents and 38 murder cases during the same period last year.

According to a press statement released on Tuesday signed by Northern Region Police spokesperson Peter Kalaya, fatal road accidents have increased by almost 23 percent.

However, the region has registered a decrease in road accidents as 152 were recorded in the first six months of 2016 while 135 accidents have been reported this year, representing an 11.2 percent decrease.

Overall, the region has recorded a 15 percent lower crime rate as compared to the same period the previous year.

“At least 2 386 cases have been reported this year as compared to 2 792 cases which were reported in 2016,” reads the statement.

However, figures also show that murder cases have increased by 23.7 percent.

According to Kalaya, the decrease in the crime rate and road accidents in the region is attributed to police officers adherence to an anti-crime strategy which was set at the onset of the year.

“In the strategy, the region set itself an ambitious target to reduce crime and road accidents by at least 40 percent,” it reads.

Out of the seven police stations in the region, Mzuzu Police has outperformed the rest by reducing crime by 21 percent.

A Directorate of Road Traffic and Safety Services report released earlier this year indicated that 1 122 people died in road accidents nationwide in 2016, an increase by eight percent from 2015. n