Kenya Horror: Bus Crash Claims 24 Lives, Sparks Government Road Safety Overhaul Promises

A devastating collision between a bus carrying mourners and a truck on Kenya's busy Nairobi-Mombasa Highway has resulted in the deaths of at least 24 people, with another 24 sustaining injuries, according to police and hospital officials. The tragic incident occurred around 7:45 am on Sunday, October 25, in the Kanga area near Mtito Andei, a critical route connecting the capital city to the coastal hub of Mombasa.

This latest disaster follows closely on the heels of another fatal crash on the same highway just over three weeks prior, which claimed 17 lives. The recurring accidents have prompted renewed vows from the government to implement stringent road safety measures.

The bus, operated by the Power of the Word Church International in Mombasa, was en route to return passengers home after attending their pastor’s funeral in western Kenya. A survivor recounted that the group had stopped for breakfast shortly before the catastrophic impact. The other vehicle involved was a truck laden with cement.

Violet Mwandonyi, a survivor, shared her harrowing experience with the Associated Press, recalling desperate pleas from passengers for assistance from passing motorists. She expressed deep distress over the unknown fate of her two children who were on the bus.

While the exact cause of the crash is still under investigation, Makueni County Commissioner Abdullahi Khalif indicated that preliminary findings suggest the bus driver may have attempted to overtake multiple vehicles before colliding with an oncoming truck. Kenya’s National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) also pointed to dangerous overtaking as a potential factor, though another survivor reported the truck hitting the bus from behind.

This incident echoes a previous crash on October 3 near Salama, also on the Nairobi-Mombasa Highway, where 17 people, mostly Catholic pilgrims, died. In that instance, a truck driver’s attempt to overtake another truck was cited as the cause. The NTSA had previously identified this section of the road as a high-risk area for accidents.

President William Ruto extended his condolences and ordered immediate inspections of all public transport vehicles. Transport Minister Davis Chirchir announced that the government would intensify enforcement against speeding and unsafe overtaking, upgrade hazardous road sections, and enhance training and checks for commercial drivers. In a statement, Chirchir emphasized the urgency of the situation, stating, “We cannot continue treating road safety as business as usual,” and called for decisive action to curb road fatalities.

Data from the NTSA reveals a grim trend, with 5,009 road crash fatalities recorded in 2025 and 2,150 deaths in the first half of 2026. The authority estimates approximately 20,000 crashes occur annually across Kenya. Following Sunday’s tragedy, the NTSA has called for road crashes to be officially declared a national disaster.