One by one, families made their way to St Mathias Mulumba Catholic Church in Mikindani Parish, Mombasa County, hoping to confirm that the devastating news they had received was not true.
12 of the 17 pilgrims killed in a horrific multi-vehicle highway collision(from left): Florence Atieno, Hilcah Orina, Regina Mwai, Martha Nzyoki, Janet Miito, Veronicah Musyimi, Samuel Muigai, Veronica Ngandi, Scholastica Ochieng, Catherine Joseph, Ann Mwanthi and Josephat Mekonge.
Photo credit: Kevin Odit| NMG
At the church, grief quickly replaced hope.
Families wailed and called out to God, struggling to understand why their loved ones, who had set out on a journey of prayer, would not return home.
There were few answers. The victims had set off with prayers on their lips, heading to the National Prayer Day, only to have their final pilgrimage cut tragically short on the asphalt of the Mombasa-Nairobi highway.
Grieving families and relatives gathered at St Mathias Mulumba Catholic Church in the Mikindani parish in Mombasa. Seventeen pilgrims died in a road accident at Salama while travelling to Subukia.
Photo credit: Kevin Odit | Nation
Inside the church, priests prayed for the souls of the departed and urged the faithful to remain strong in the face of the tragedy.
“We are here praying for our pilgrims who died in a road accident on their way to Hija at Subukia. Their bodies are at Sultan Hamud Hospital mortuary. We pray for our colleagues. We got a report from the traffic police that the accident involved multiple cars. We have lost 17 faithful,” said Fr Kizito Iloka.
“Let’s pray for our colleagues,” Fr Augustine Lape said during a prayer session filled with grief.
Fr Lape said the church had offered consolation to the families and was discussing travel arrangements for relatives who would go to identify the bodies.
“One of the key things we are dealing with at the moment is how to manage the shock because this is shocking news. But under the guidance of our Archbishop Martin Kivuva, who is in Rome, and Coadjutor Archbishop Dominic Kimengich, we shall be offering the spiritual, emotional and the support the families and friends need,” he said.
The priest also prayed for an end to road carnage, saying the repeated loss of lives on Kenyan roads had become too much for families to bear.
“We pray for road safety, all drivers and the policemen manning the roads. We thank the policemen for having given us the information and we are acting on it,” he said.
Catholic faithful converge at the Subukia National Marian Shrine on October 3, 2026, for the National Prayer Day. Catholic bishops, led by Kisumu Archbishop Maurice Muhatia, condoled with the families of the 17 pilgrims who died in a road accident at Salama along the Mombasa-Nairobi highway while travelling to Subukia.
Photo credit: Boniface Mwangi | Nation
Father Lape said the vehicle carrying the pilgrims had left Mikindani church after priests blessed it.
“The van had carried 16 pilgrims, who are all from our church, going to Subukia for prayers. There were no minors in the vehicle. So far, we have held meetings with the family as we plan to go identify the bodies,” he said earlier on Saturday.
For some relatives, the tragedy hit harder due to the memories of their last conversations with those they had lost.
Sarah Nashivanda, 20, lost her mother. She said she spoke to her mother at 8pm, when her mother told her they were praying and that she would call the following morning after they arrived.
“The last time I saw her was at 11am before they left. She told me she had left me with everything and that I should take care of myself and be safe. Those were the last words that she said to me face-to-face,” she said.
Her mother, she said, had been more than a parent to her and her two brothers.
“My mother was the perfect role model. She was the mum and dad to me. It’s so hard to take it, but all in all, I just have to accept it. There’s nothing I can do apart from accepting God’s plan. I cannot redo whatever God has planned. It is the way it is and there is a reason for everything. I give heart, and I will be strong for her,” she said. “I have my two brothers. I am the last born; the only daughter she had,” Ms Nashivanda said.
Ms Sheila Rose, on her part, lost her aunt, Scholastica Ochieng – a nurse.
She remembers her as jovial and talkative, unaware that it would be their last meeting.
“She was okay and her usual self, jovial and talkative. She showed me the road I would use to visit her so that when I come back next month, I won’t get lost,” she said.
“I didn’t know she was preparing me for today because I used the same road to come and confirm if it is true she is no more. I did not get lost like she had feared, but I came alone as she had stated,” she said.
At the church, Leonard Mwashumbe was also struggling with the reality that his 65-year-old sister, Jane Mwakamba, was among those who had died.
Mr Mwashumbe, the eldest in a family of eight, said he spoke to his sister on Friday about the journey to Subukia. The following morning, her friend called him with the news of the accident.
“We are a family of eight, and I am the eldest. My sister is a middle child,” he said. “It is very sad. I don’t know how I will break this news to her children or our mother.”
Ms Mwakamba, he said, had been planning to retire. Instead, her journey to Subukia became her last. She leaves behind two children.
At St Mathias Mulumba Catholic Church, families were on Saturday morning preparing for the difficult journey to Sultan Hamud Hospital mortuary to identify their loved ones.
For those who had gathered there, the pilgrimage that began with prayer had ended in grief, leaving families to confront the painful task of saying goodbye.
