KISUMU, Kenya — A devastating road accident has claimed the lives of 25 mourners in western Kenya after a bus carrying them from a funeral overturned into a ditch along the Kisumu-Kakamega Highway on Friday afternoon, local authorities confirmed.
According to a police report seen by the BBC, the driver lost control of the vehicle, veered off the road, and crashed in an area long known for its deadly traffic incidents. The bus, which belonged to a local secondary school but was repurposed for funeral transport, was ferrying mourners from a burial ceremony in Nyahera to Nyakach, approximately 62 kilometers away.
- 21 people died at the scene: 10 women, 10 men, and one young girl.
- 20 others sustained injuries, five of them critically.
- Four more victims succumbed to their injuries in hospital, bringing the death toll to 25.
All passengers are believed to be members of the same extended family, returning from a burial ground when the tragedy struck.
The exact cause of the crash remains unclear. Kenya’s National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) has pledged to support investigations into the incident. President William Ruto, in a statement on X (formerly Twitter), urged authorities to swiftly hold accountable “those responsible for any acts of negligence” and to address traffic violations nationwide.
The Ministry of Health has launched an urgent blood donation drive to aid survivors and extended condolences to the bereaved families. It also issued a public appeal for heightened caution on the roads, citing the alarming frequency of fatal accidents.
This latest tragedy follows a string of deadly incidents across the country:
- Earlier this week, six people died in a light aircraft crash in Nairobi.
- On Thursday, nine were killed when a bus collided with a train in Naivasha.
- On Saturday, seven more perished in a separate crash near Nairobi.
Kenya has seen a troubling surge in road deaths, with fatalities rising over 20% between 2020 and 2021. In 2021 alone, more than 4,500 people were killed and over 16,000 injured in traffic-related incidents.
As the nation mourns yet another tragic loss, calls for comprehensive road safety reforms grow louder. The Kisumu-Kakamega Highway, in particular, remains a focal point for urgent infrastructural and regulatory attention.
