Seventeen people died, most of them Catholic pilgrims traveling to a shrine for a day of prayer, when several vehicles collided on the highway leading to Kenya’s coastal city of Mombasa on Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026, officials said. The pilgrims belonged to St. Mathias Mulumba Catholic Church and were bound for the Subukia National Shrine.
The wreck happened at Salama shortly after 12 a.m. local time. The driver of the van carrying the group and 16 passengers, predominantly women, were pronounced dead at the scene, killing 17 people in all. Several other people were hurt and were receiving medical treatment, according to the Kenya National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA).
Pilgrims Bound for Subukia Shrine
Martin Kivuva, archbishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Mombasa, confirmed the deaths in a statement released Saturday, Oct. 3. He said the victims had been heading to the Subukia National Shrine for the National Prayer Day, and he asked the faithful to pray for the dead, their families, St. Mathias Mulumba parish and the archdiocese, so that all might find comfort in the Lord.
“May their souls rest in peace,” Kivuva wrote on social media.
Police Cite a Failed Overtaking
Police said the chain of events began when the driver of a truck tried to pass another truck and could not complete the maneuver. The van carrying the Catholic pilgrims was caught up in the resulting collision.
The NTSA said it sent a multi-disciplinary crash investigation team to Salama to establish the full circumstances of the collision, work that includes inspecting the vehicles involved and checking compliance. The team is supporting the National Police Service. In a Facebook post, the authority offered its deepest and heartfelt condolences to the families, friends and everyone else affected by what it called the Salama incident.
Ruto Extends Condolences to Families
Kenyan President William Ruto offered his sympathies to the families, friends and fellow parishioners of the dead and to the wider Catholic community, pointing to the loss of the 17 pilgrims from St. Mathias Mulumba Catholic Church.
“We stand with them in this difficult moment and pray that God grants them strength, comfort and peace,” Ruto said. He added a wish that the souls of those who died rest in eternal peace.
The Subukia National Shrine, set in Kenya’s Rift Valley region, draws Catholics from across the country for the annual National Prayer Day, and parishes commonly charter vehicles to make the long overnight trip. The group from St. Mathias Mulumba parish was traveling in the early hours of the morning when the vehicles collided.
A Known Hotspot on the Highway
The NTSA said the stretch of road between Mlima Kiu and Salama has been flagged as a hotspot for traffic collisions, and that recommendations to address safety concerns along that corridor had already been made before the Oct. 3 crash. The authority did not say what became of those recommendations.
While the investigation goes on, the NTSA appealed to motorists using the highway to exercise extreme caution, to avoid dangerous overtaking maneuvers and to observe lane discipline strictly. Overtaking on Kenya’s busy two-lane trunk roads, where long-haul trucks share the asphalt with buses, vans and passenger cars, is a recurring factor in the country’s road deaths.
For the parish, the mourning is only beginning. A pilgrimage meant to end in prayer at a national shrine instead ended on the tarmac at Salama, and the archdiocese has asked Catholics across the region to remember the dead, the injured and the families left behind.