Tragedy struck along the Nairobi-Mombasa Highway on Sunday morning, October 25, when a head-on collision between a passenger bus and a heavy lorry claimed the lives of at least 24 people and left over two dozen others injured.
The crash occurred at approximately 7:00 a.m. at the Kanga area near Mtito Andei in Makueni County. According to local authorities and survivors, the bus—belonging to The Power of the Word Church International in Mombasa—was ferrying congregation members returning home from a pastor’s funeral service in western Kenya when it collided with a truck transporting cement.
Emergency response personnel and local residents rushed to the scene to assist in pulling survivors from the wreckage. Makueni County Commissioner Abdullahi Khalif confirmed that at least 20 passengers died at the scene, while additional victims passed away while receiving treatment at Mtito Andei Sub-County Hospital and Makindu Sub-County Hospital. Over 20 other passengers remain hospitalized with varying degrees of injury.
The National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) noted that the Kanga stretch near Mtito Andei is a designated high-risk accident black spot, prompting fresh calls from motorists and civil society organizations for urgent infrastructure upgrades, including the dualing of the busy transport corridor.
Police have launched an investigation into the exact circumstances surrounding the fatal crash as identification of the victims continues.