At least 22 killed in bus-lorry crash on Nairobi-Mombasa Highway, police say, AP reports

As of 7:24 a.m. ET, Oct. 25, 2026

Update (Oct. 25, 2026, 7:24 a.m. ET): This story has been updated with the police death toll reported by The Associated Press, a hospital breakdown from a Makueni County health official, the county commissioner's comments on the toll and an investigation, and details of an earlier fatal crash on the same highway.

At least 22 people were killed when a bus collided with a lorry on the Nairobi-Mombasa Highway in Kenya's Makueni County on Sunday morning, police said, according to The Associated Press. Several others were injured and were receiving treatment, police said, AP reported.

Makueni County Commissioner Abdullahi Khalif said the death toll could rise, AP reported. Khalif also said an investigation had begun to establish the circumstances of the crash, the Daily Nation reported.

Makueni Health Chief Officer Harvey Mulei told the Daily Nation's Pius Maundu that 18 passengers died at the scene and four more died while receiving treatment at Mtito Andei Sub-County Referral Hospital. "The facility currently has 16 patients receiving treatment while two were referred to Makindu Sub-County Referral Hospital," Mulei said, according to the paper.

The crash occurred about 7 a.m. local time at Kanga, past Mtito Andei, The Star reported, citing officials. Witnesses told the Daily Nation it happened at about 7:45 a.m. Khalif confirmed the deaths and said several other passengers were injured, according to The Star, Citizen Digital and Capital FM.

Khalif had earlier confirmed 20 deaths, Citizen Digital reported. The Star, in a report by Cyrus Ombati and George Owiti, and Citizen Digital's Michael Mutinda later reported that the toll had risen to 22 after two more people died of their injuries, and Capital FM also reported at least 22 dead.

According to police, the bus was ferrying passengers returning from a burial ceremony when it collided with the lorry, The Star reported. A source told the Daily Nation that the bus had come from a funeral in Western Kenya and was heading toward Mombasa. Injured passengers were taken to Mtito Andei Sub-County Hospital, the outlets said.

Mtito Andei Sub-County Hospital Medical Superintendent Dr. Kevin Wamalwa told The Star the crash happened between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m. and that some victims died while undergoing treatment. "It is a serious accident. We are attending to those who have survived," he said. The medical superintendent also said the injured were in critical condition, the Daily Nation reported.

Earlier crash on the same highway

Sunday's crash came three weeks after 17 people died in another accident on the same highway, which links Nairobi with the coastal city of Mombasa, AP reported. Kenya's National Transport and Safety Authority said the stretch of the highway where Sunday's crash occurred is a designated "accident black spot" and that recommendations had been made to address safety concerns, according to AP.

What is not known

The cause of the crash had not been established. Officials had not released a full casualty list or identified the victims. No written statement from the National Police Service or the Kenya Red Cross had been published in the material reviewed for this report. Accounts differ on the time of the crash, from about 7 a.m. to about 7:45 a.m. local time.