Coadjutor Archbishop Dominic Kimengich spoke at a joint requiem Mass on Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026, for the 17 Catholic pilgrims killed in a crash on the highway leading to Kenya’s coastal city of Mombasa. “We believe they are now in heaven,” he said.
Among those remembered at the Mass were Janet Miito, Florence Atieno, Jane Mwakamba, Josephat Mekonge, Hilkah Orina, Linah Akinyi, Veronicah Musyimi, Martha Nzyoki, Ann Mwanthi, Sarapia Mwarimbo, Scholastica Ochieng, Catherine Joseph, Beatrice Oluoch, Veronica Ngandi, Regina Mwai, Samuel Muigai and driver Samuel Mwanyasi.
Officials said 17 people died, most of them Catholic pilgrims, after several vehicles collided at Salama, in Makueni County, shortly after midnight local time on Saturday, Oct. 3. The group belonged to St. Mathias Mulumba Catholic Church and was traveling in the early hours of the morning to the Subukia National Shrine, in Kenya’s Rift Valley region, for the National Prayer Day. The shrine draws Catholics from across the country for the annual day of prayer.
What Police Said Happened
Police said a truck driver’s attempt to pass another truck, a maneuver he did not complete, began the chain of events. The van carrying the pilgrims got caught up in the resulting collision, police said. The ballast-laden truck that rammed the pilgrims’ vehicle suffered a suspected brake loss.
The driver of the van and 16 passengers, mostly women, died at the scene. Six survivors were taken to Sultan Hamud sub-county hospital and discharged on Oct. 3. The truck driver, who had serious head injuries, was transferred to Makueni County Referral Hospital.
Investigators Inspect the Vehicles
The Kenya National Transport and Safety Authority sent a multidisciplinary crash investigation team to Salama to establish the full circumstances. The team is inspecting the vehicles involved and checking compliance, and it is supporting the National Police Service. Investigators have not yet established the full sequence of events.
The NTSA said the stretch of road between Mlima Kiu and Salama has been flagged as a black spot for traffic collisions, and that it had already made safety recommendations for that corridor before the Oct. 3 crash. The authority did not say what became of those recommendations.
The NTSA appealed to motorists on the highway to use extreme caution, to avoid dangerous overtaking maneuvers and to observe lane discipline strictly while the investigation goes on. Kenya recorded 5,009 road traffic deaths last year and 2,150 in the first six months of 2026, according to NTSA figures cited by Al Jazeera.
Autopsies and Funerals
Pathologists carried out postmortem examinations at Sultan Hamud Hospital. Most of the bodies had multiple soft tissue injuries, multiple bone fractures and head injuries, the pathologist who led the examinations told People Daily.
The archdiocese held a candlelit vigil at St. Mathias Mulumba parish in Mikindani on Wednesday, Oct. 7, a day before the joint requiem Mass. Nine of the bodies were taken to Mombasa, and families took the other eight to their home areas for burial.
Condolences and Donations
Martin Kivuva, archbishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Mombasa, confirmed the deaths in a statement released Saturday, Oct. 3. “We are saddened with lots of grief to announce the untimely passing on of seventeen (17) pilgrims,” he said. Kivuva said in the statement that the victims had been heading to the Subukia National Shrine for the National Prayer Day, and he appealed for prayers for the dead, their families, St. Mathias Mulumba parish and the archdiocese, and for comfort in the Lord.
Kenyan President William Ruto offered his sympathies to the families, friends and fellow parishioners of the dead and to the wider Catholic community. “We stand with them in this difficult moment and pray that God grants them strength, comfort and peace,” Ruto said. He added his wish that the souls of those who died rest in eternal peace.
Jubilee Party leader Fred Matiang’i visited the parish on Monday, Oct. 5, and delivered a KSh 500,000 (about $3,854) contribution from former President Uhuru Kenyatta toward the funeral arrangements. The government has provided KSh 12.5 million (about $11,562) to be shared among the bereaved families, area MP Badi Twalib said, The Star reported.
The pilgrimage meant to end in prayer at a national shrine ended on the road at Salama.
