17 Killed, Several Other Injured in Horrific Crash on the Way to National Prayer Gathering

Seventeen people, most of them Catholic pilgrims headed to a national prayer gathering, were killed in a devastating highway crash in Kenya.

The crash happened shortly after midnight Saturday in the Salama area of Makueni County along the busy Nairobi-Mombasa Highway.

According to police, the deadly chain of events began when the driver of a truck attempted to overtake another truck and the maneuver went wrong.

The failed pass triggered a multi-vehicle collision that involved a van carrying Catholic pilgrims who were traveling from Mombasa to the Subukia National Shrine in Nakuru County for National Prayer Day.

All 17 people in the van who died — the driver and 16 passengers — were pronounced dead at the scene.

Most of the passengers were women.

Several other people were injured and rushed to nearby hospitals for treatment.

At least one person remained hospitalized with serious head injuries Sunday.

The victims were members of St. Mathias Mulumba Catholic Church in Mombasa.

Archbishop Martin Kivuva of the Catholic Archdiocese of Mombasa confirmed the deaths and asked the faithful to pray for the victims and their families.

“Let us pray for the repose of their souls as we pray for their families, St. Mathias Mulumba parish and the Archdiocese as a whole, so that we may find solace and consolation in the Lord,” Kivuva said.

He added, “May their souls rest in peace.”

Kenya’s National Transport and Safety Authority said it dispatched a team to the crash site to determine exactly what happened.

Investigators are expected to examine the vehicles involved, road conditions and whether traffic laws or safety requirements were violated.

The agency said the stretch of highway near Mlima Kiu and Salama has long been considered a dangerous crash zone.

Officials said safety recommendations had already been made for the corridor before Saturday’s tragedy.

The agency urged motorists to avoid dangerous passing maneuvers and to follow lane rules, especially along heavily traveled highways.

Families of the victims gathered at Sultan Hamud Hospital as authorities prepared postmortem examinations and arrangements to return the bodies to Mombasa.

The crash cast a shadow over the National Prayer Day gathering at the Subukia shrine, where thousands of Catholic worshippers had traveled from across the country.

Kenyan President William Ruto also offered condolences to the victims’ families and the wider Catholic community.

He said the country was mourning the loss of the 17 pilgrims and offered prayers for those injured in the crash.

“We stand with them in this difficult moment and pray that God grants them strength, comfort and peace,” Ruto said.

The accident has renewed concerns about safety along Kenya’s major highways, where deadly crashes remain a serious problem.