22 Killed in Kenya Highway Crash as Road Safety Concerns Mount

GOOBJOOG NEWS | NAIROBI: At least 22 people were killed and several others injured when a passenger bus collided head-on with a lorry on Kenya’s Nairobi-Mombasa highway on Sunday, in the latest deadly accident on one of East Africa’s busiest transport corridors.

The crash occurred between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m. in the Kanga area near Mtito Andei, in Makueni County, as the bus was reportedly carrying passengers returning from a burial ceremony.

The bus was travelling from the direction of Mombasa towards Nairobi when the collision occurred, bringing traffic to a standstill as emergency responders rushed to the scene.

Makueni County Commissioner Abdullahi Khalif confirmed the death toll, while hospital officials said some victims died at the scene and others succumbed to their injuries while receiving treatment.

The injured were taken to Mtito Andei Sub-County Hospital, where medical personnel were treating survivors and compiling casualty records.

“It is a serious accident. We are attending to those who have survived,” the hospital’s medical superintendent, Dr Kevin Wamalwa, told reporters.

Wamalwa said he was alerted to the crash shortly before 8 a.m., adding that some victims had died while undergoing treatment.

The cause of the collision remained under investigation, with authorities yet to establish the circumstances that led to the crash.

Sunday’s tragedy comes barely two weeks after another accident involving several vehicles claimed 17 lives along the same highway, renewing concerns over safety on the route linking Nairobi to the port city of Mombasa.

The highway carries heavy commercial traffic, long-distance passenger buses and private vehicles, making it a vital transport artery for Kenya and neighbouring countries that rely on the port of Mombasa.

The latest fatalities also come as Kenya’s National Police Service and National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) step up road safety campaigns ahead of the December festive season, when increased travel traditionally puts additional pressure on major highways.

According to figures cited by authorities, more than 415 people died in road accidents during the 2025 festive period, a 23 percent increase from the previous year.

Officials have warned that speeding, dangerous overtaking, driver fatigue and poorly maintained vehicles remain major contributors to road accidents across the country.

The police and NTSA are urging motorists to observe speed limits, avoid reckless driving and ensure vehicles are roadworthy as travel volumes begin to rise ahead of the holiday season.

The latest tragedy has once again highlighted the human cost of road accidents in Kenya, where repeated safety campaigns have struggled to prevent fatal collisions on major highways.