Deadly Bus Collision on Kenya’s Nairobi-Mombasa Highway Claims 24 Lives, Authorities Pledge Comprehensive Road Safety Measures

Mourners Die in Kenya’s Nairobi-Mombasa Highway Crash After Previous Fatal Incident

A bus transporting mourners collided with a truck on a major highway in southeastern Kenya, resulting in at least 24 fatalities, according to police.

The accident occurred in the Kanga region near Mtito Andei, on the Nairobi‑Mombasa corridor, at approximately 7:45 a.m. local time (04:45 GMT) on Sunday, October 25.

An additional 24 individuals were injured, hospital officials reported.

These fatalities occurred just over three weeks after another highway crash that claimed 17 lives, prompting the government to pledge renewed efforts to improve road safety.

The bus, operated by Power of the Word Church International in Mombasa, was transporting passengers home after a pastor’s funeral in western Kenya.

The occupants had paused for breakfast shortly before the collision, according to a survivor.

The other vehicle was a cement‑laden truck.

Survivor Violet Mwandonyi told the Associated Press on Sunday that she recalled passengers shouting for passing motorists to assist.

She stated that she was uncertain about the fate of her two children, who were aboard the bus.

The cause of the crash is still under investigation.

Makueni County Commissioner Abdullahi Khalif, the region’s senior government administrator, told *The Standard* that the bus driver had attempted to overtake several vehicles before colliding with an oncoming truck.

Kenya’s National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) also identified dangerous overtaking as a possible cause.

Another survivor reported that the truck struck the bus from behind.

On October 3, a multi‑vehicle crash killed 17 people, predominantly Catholic pilgrims en route to a prayer site, near Salama on the same highway.

Police said the truck driver had attempted to overtake another truck prior to the collision.

The NTSA noted that this stretch of road has a documented history of crashes.

President William Ruto expressed condolences on Sunday and ordered inspections of vehicles used for public transport.

Transport Minister Davis Chirchir announced that the government would intensify enforcement against speeding and unsafe overtaking, upgrade hazardous road sections, and strengthen training and inspections for commercial drivers.

In a Sunday statement, Chirchir said the government would collaborate with police, local authorities and legislators on these measures, including tighter oversight of buses and heavy‑goods vehicles.

“We cannot keep treating road safety as business as usual,” he declared, urging stronger action to curb fatalities.

NTSA data, reported by Kenyan media, indicate that 5,009 people died in road crashes in 2025, with 2,150 deaths recorded in the first half of 2026.

The authority estimates roughly 20,000 crashes occur annually across Kenya.

In response to Sunday’s collision, it urged that road crashes be declared a national disaster.

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