The Mombasa Pastors Fellowship has called on the Kenyan government to expand the Nairobi-Mombasa highway into a dual carriageway after a bus crash killed 24 people, including three pastors, and left dozens of others injured.
The fellowship is also organizing a KSh 10 million ($77,000) fundraising drive to support bereaved families, cover funeral expenses and establish an education fund for children left behind by those who died in the October 25 collision near Mtito Andei.
Reverend Elijah Waini, the fellowship’s secretary-general, said the fundraising would address both the immediate costs of burying the victims and the long-term needs of children who have lost parents.
“Many times people remember only the funeral, but then they forget that after the funeral, there is still school fees to be paid. So, today, I have asked the pastors, let us do two funds,” Waini said, according to the Kenya News Agency.
The fellowship plans to hold the fundraiser on Nov. 12 and has appealed to President William Ruto and other well-wishers to support the initiative.
Waini described the accident as a crisis extending beyond Mombasa, calling for urgent action to improve safety on one of Kenya's busiest transport routes.
“We need to have a dual carriageway between Mombasa and Nairobi,” he said, arguing that the road’s single-carriageway design contributes to the danger faced by motorists.
The appeal follows a devastating collision at Kanga, near Mtito Andei in Makueni County, on the morning of Oct. 25. A bus belonging to Power of the Word Church International, carrying members of the Mombasa Pastors Fellowship and other passengers back from a bishop’s burial in Kakamega County, Western Kenya collided head-on with a truck.
Twenty-four people died in the crash, while survivors were taken to hospitals in Mtito Andei, Kibwezi and Makindu for treatment, according to the Kenya News Agency.
The accident plunged churches across Mombasa into mourning, with families and congregations confronting the sudden loss of relatives, church leaders and fellow worshippers.
Three pastors identified among the victim were Pastor Joseph Vura of Campaign for Salvation and Healing Ministry Church, Apostle Fonex Paul of River of Restoration Church, and Pastor Isaac Juma of Grace Healing Church, according to the Daily Nation.
Vura’s death was particularly devastating for his congregation. Bishop Elijah Janabi, the presiding bishop of Campaign for Salvation and Healing Ministry, said Vura had been ordained in 2008 and described him as a dedicated minister whose work had touched the lives of those he served.
Vura initially survived the collision but sustained severe head injuries. He was taken to a hospital in Kambu for emergency treatment but later died after suffering substantial blood loss, Janabi told the Daily Nation.
The crash also left children without parents and families facing funeral expenses alongside the emotional trauma of losing loved ones. The fellowship’s proposed education fund aims to help children continue their schooling after the deaths of their parents, including four children left by one of the deceased pastors.
The accident has renewed concerns about safety on the Nairobi-Mombasa highway, a vital route for passenger travel and freight moving between the capital and the port city.
The latest road crash came less than a month after another accident on the same highway killed 17 Catholic pilgrims from Mombasa on Oct. 3. That earlier collision near Salama also prompted calls for improvements to road safety.
Mombasa leaders have joined the pastors in urging the national government to expand the highway, arguing that the volume of traffic on the route makes improvements increasingly urgent.
Mombasa Deputy Governor Francis Thoya questioned how many more people would have to die before the government acted.
“The other time we lost 17 people in Salama; a few weeks later, we have more dead. How many must die before the state takes corrective steps?” he said, according to the Daily Nation.
The fellowship has also thanked the Makueni County Government for waiving hospital bills and postmortem fees for victims and assisting with ambulances to transport survivors and bodies.
The Mombasa County Government also provided ambulances, according to Waini.
As funeral arrangements continue, the fellowship’s appeal is focused on ensuring that the tragedy does not leave surviving families without the means to meet basic needs, particularly the cost of educating children.
