A bus carrying mourners from a funeral crashed in western Kenya on Friday afternoon, August 8, killing 25 people and injuring 20 others when the driver lost control and the vehicle overturned into a ditch along the Kisumu-Kakamega Highway.
The passengers were returning from a burial ceremony at Nyahera and traveling to Nyakach, a distance of about 62 kilometers. Police reports indicate that 10 women, 10 men and one girl died at the scene, with an additional four people succumbing to their injuries in hospital. Among the victims was a 10-year-old girl.
Peter Maina, a regional traffic enforcement officer for Nyanza province, described how the driver lost control of the bus as it approached a roundabout at high speed before plunging into a ditch. The vehicle was a secondary school bus being used for funeral transport, with no students on board at the time of the accident.
All passengers were believed to be members of the same extended family returning from the burial ground. The crash occurred in an area notorious for deadly accidents, though the exact cause remains under investigation by authorities.
Of the 20 people initially injured in the crash, five were reported to be in serious condition. The total number of injured later rose to 29 as more details emerged from the scene.
Kenya’s Ministry of Health issued an urgent call for blood donations to assist survivors and extended condolences to the bereaved families. The ministry also urged motorists to exercise greater caution on the country’s roads, particularly given the frequency of fatal accidents.
Kenyan President William Ruto responded to the incident by calling on authorities to quickly book “those responsible for any acts of negligence leading to the accident and address all traffic violations to ensure road safety across the country.” The National Transport and Safety Authority pledged to assist in the investigation into the crash’s cause.
The accident was part of a particularly deadly period for transportation in Kenya. Earlier in the same week, six people died when a light aircraft belonging to a medical charity crashed in Nairobi. On Thursday, nine people were killed when a bus collided with a train in the town of Naivasha, with the victims being workers traveling to their jobs when the bus was struck at a railway crossing.
An additional seven people died in another crash near Nairobi on Saturday, contributing to what authorities described as a devastating span of transportation accidents across the country.
Road accidents are common throughout Kenya and the wider East African region, where roads are often narrow and in poor condition with numerous potholes. Police frequently attribute these accidents to speeding drivers and inadequate infrastructure maintenance.
Statistics reveal a concerning trend in Kenya’s road safety record. Between 2020 and 2021, road deaths in the country increased by more than 20 percent. In 2021 alone, more than 4,500 people were killed and over 16,000 injured in traffic accidents.
Fredrick Ouma Oluga, the principal secretary in charge of medical services in Kenya, confirmed the hospital death toll and indicated that the crash shocked many in the region, sparking renewed calls for tougher road safety measures.
The Kisumu-Kakamega Highway where the accident occurred has a particularly notorious reputation for fatal crashes. Local authorities have long identified this stretch of road as problematic due to its design and the frequency of serious accidents.
Hospital officials at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital in Kisumu mobilized resources to treat the survivors, establishing multiple operating theaters and launching emergency blood donation drives. The medical response included setting up specialized treatment centers to handle the influx of crash victims.
The community impact extended beyond the immediate casualties, with entire families affected by the loss of multiple relatives who had traveled together to attend the funeral service. Local residents described widespread grief throughout the area as news of the accident spread.
Authorities have promised comprehensive investigations into the incident while emphasizing the need for improved traffic enforcement and road safety measures. The crash has reignited discussions about infrastructure improvements and stricter vehicle safety standards across Kenya’s transportation network.