RABAI, Kilifi County—A family in Rabai, Kilifi County, is mourning four relatives killed in the October 25 road accident at Kanga near Mtito Andei in Makueni County, where a collision involving a church bus and a lorry claimed 24 lives.
The four victims have been identified by their family as Dr Patrick Mutsunga, his wife Younitta Mutsunga, their child Ndune Mutsunga, and Moses Mwadzuya.
The family is now appealing to the government for assistance with transporting the bodies of their loved ones for burial, as they grapple with the loss of four members in a single tragedy.
Speaking at the family home in Rabai after receiving news of the deaths, Mwalimu Mungule described the family’s grief as they came to terms with the sudden loss.
Another family member, Tsuma Kanyonge, described the incident as devastating and called on motorists to exercise greater caution on the roads to prevent further loss of life.
Kanyonge also appealed to the national government and the Kilifi County Government to support the family with funeral arrangements and assist children left without their parents.
The accident occurred on Sunday morning, October 25, when a bus belonging to Power of the Word Church International, Mombasa, collided head-on with a lorry at Kanga along the Nairobi-Mombasa Highway.
The bus was carrying passengers returning to Mombasa after attending the funeral of Bishop Isaiah Kiganane in Marakusi village, Kakamega County. The death toll rose to 24 as some of the injured passengers succumbed to their injuries in hospital.
The tragedy has renewed concerns over safety on one of Kenya’s busiest transport corridors, coming barely three weeks after another major crash near Salama in Makueni County claimed 17 lives.
The National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) has called for road safety to be declared a national disaster, arguing that the scale of road deaths requires urgent, coordinated government intervention.
Preliminary findings on the Kanga crash indicated that the vehicles collided head-on, with improper overtaking suspected to have contributed to the accident. Police and NTSA investigators are working to establish the full circumstances surrounding the collision.
For the family in Rabai, however, the national debate over road safety is now deeply personal, as they prepare to bury four relatives and seek support for those left behind.
