A collision between a bus carrying church mourners and a truck on October 25, 2026, killed at least 24 people and injured another 24 along the Nairobi-Mombasa Highway in southeastern Kenya, according to police and hospital officials. The crash occurred at approximately 7:45 am local time in the Kanga area near Mtito Andei, as the passengers returned home to Mombasa following their pastor’s funeral in western Kenya, according to Al Jazeera.
Crash on Nairobi-Mombasa Highway Kills 24
The bus belonged to Power of the Word Church International in Mombasa. Bishop Zachariah Mwagandi of Glorious River Church International noted that the delegation of pastors and church members had departed from Lugari Constituency in Kakamega County around 4 pm the previous day and traveled through the night. Survivors recounted that the group had stopped for breakfast shortly before the tragedy struck.
Investigations established that the bus driver had driven continuously for more than 16 hours without a relief driver.
The disaster unfolded just over three weeks after another fatal multi-vehicle crash on October 3 on the same highway near Salama, which claimed 17 lives—mostly Catholic pilgrims traveling to a prayer site. Those consecutive catastrophes prompted intense public outcry and fresh government pledges to overhaul highway safety standards across the East African nation.
Authorities Investigate Causes and Respond to Emergency
Authorities are investigating the exact cause of the Kanga collision, though initial accounts point to multiple contributing factors. Makueni County Commissioner Abdullahi Khalif stated that the bus driver attempted to overtake several vehicles before crashing into an oncoming cement-transporting truck. Kenya’s National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) similarly flagged dangerous overtaking as a potential cause, while another survivor reported that the truck struck the bus from the rear.
Survivors and rescue workers described scenes of intense distress at the wreckage. Reverend Spenza Mdave of the Voice of Faith Church in Malindi helped evacuate passengers while searching anxiously for his four children who had accompanied him on the trip. Other survivors, such as Violet Mwandonyi, reported being separated from their children and injured during the impact. Injured victims received emergency treatment at the Mtito Andei Sub-County Referral Hospital, overseen by Medical Superintendent Paul Kusienya.
The Mombasa Pastors Fellowship subsequently urged the government to airlift victims needing specialized care, waive hospital bills, and provide financial assistance to bereaved families.
President Ruto Orders Inspections After Deaths
In response to the mounting death toll, President William Ruto offered condolences and ordered immediate inspections of all public transport vehicles.
Transport Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir announced a three-pronged government intervention. The plan focuses on structured funding for road safety infrastructure, stricter enforcement against speeding and improper overtaking, and improved training and oversight for commercial and public service vehicle drivers. Chirchir emphasized that road safety could no longer be treated as business as usual.
The NTSA reported that 5,009 people died in road crashes across Kenya throughout 2025, with another 2,150 fatalities recorded in the first half of 2026 alone out of an estimated 20,000 annual accidents.
NTSA Director-General Nashon Kondiwa joined local leaders in calling for road crashes to be officially declared a national disaster to mobilize cross-agency resources and coordinate emergency responses more effectively.
