On Thursday, October 22, Pastor Amos Kwena of Word of Life Church in Mikindani and his wife, Rhoda Kwena, boarded a bus alongside fellow clergy, families, and church members in Mombasa.
They were embarking on an overnight journey to Lugari, Kakamega County, for the burial of Pastor Kwena’s in-law and colleague in the Mombasa Pastors Fellowship, Bishop Isaiah Kiganane.
The bus was carrying about 50 passengers, including at least 12 pastors. The funeral was to be held on Saturday, October 24.
The couple settled into their seats at the back of the bus, expecting a routine trip to western Kenya. But just as the vehicle reached Jomvu, about 13 kilometres from Mombasa town centre, Ms Kwena’s phone rang.
On the line was a notification that she was required to appear in court the following morning, Friday, regarding an ongoing court case. That single phone call altered their destiny.
"We took the casket from the mortuary, held a funeral service at MPC, and proceeded to the deceased’s home in Maganda before setting off for Kakamega. In Jomvu, my wife received the call about the Friday court date. That is what cut our journey short. We had no choice but to disembark," Pastor Kwena recalled.
Their sudden departure was met with raised eyebrows and mild frustration from fellow travellers, who expected the pastor to accompany his family to the burial.
Unknown to anyone on board, the bus would later be involved in a catastrophic collision with a heavy truck at Kanga near Mtito Andei along the Mombasa–Nairobi Highway on its return journey on Sunday, leaving 24 people dead and dozens severely injured.
But before stepping off the bus at Jomvu, Pastor Kwena shared a final conversation with his close friend, Pastor Isaack Juma of Grace Healing Sanctuary in Bangladesh, Mombasa, who was sitting next to them in the back row.
What felt at the time like lighthearted banter now hangs over the Kwena family as a haunting premonition.
"When we alighted, Pastor Juma bade us farewell. But before we left, he told me that when he dies, we should not take his body to his home in Ganahola, Mombasa, but straight to his rural home to save his family the stress and agony," revealed Pastor Kwenda.
His wife, visibly overcome with emotion, recalled how Pastor Juma repeated the instruction with a laugh.
"He said it as a joke, so we didn't take keen interest, but he kept repeating it while laughing," she said.
"Nikifa nisipelekwe kwangu Ganahola. Nipelekwe tu nyumbani, si mambo ya kusumbua watu nipelekwe mpaka kwa nyumba alafu tena watu waanze kwenda huko wakirudi." (If I die, don't take me to my home in Ganahola. Just take me to the village so that people aren't put through the ordeal of traveling back and forth).
"I did not know he would never come back. Those words keep replaying in my mind," she added.
Pastor Juma had recently selected Pastor Kwena to serve on a fundraising committee to build a new sanctuary after securing land for his church.
On Sunday morning, while Pastor Kwena was leading a church service, his phone began ringing incessantly. Between 10:00am and 12:00pm, he received over 100 missed calls from friends, relatives, and fellow ministers.
"I didn't know what was happening because I was in the middle of the service. When I started calling people back at around 1:00pm, everyone was asking if I was alive or dead. They all knew I had boarded that bus," he said.
Members of the Grace Healing Centre Church immersed in prayer following the deaths of their members in the fatal bus-truck collision at Mtito Andei.
Photo credit: Kevin Odit | Nation
It was only then that the couple learned about the horrific accident that had wiped out several of their colleagues in ministry. Processing the tragedy has now become an agonising struggle between overwhelming grief for their fallen colleagues and profound relief for their survival.
"We were shocked and grateful at the same time. We are not special that God spared us, but that phone call changed everything. We would have been among the victims. We thank God for His mercy, but we are deeply saddened by the loss of our colleagues," he said.
Reflecting on the narrow escape, Pastor Kwena believes his surviving the crash carries a renewed divine calling.
"God spared us because He still has work for us to do on earth. I have promised that I will dedicate the rest of my life to serving Him," he said.
The latest crash has revived calls for lasting solutions to curb fatal road accidents along the Mombasa-Nairobi highway. The Mombasa Pastors Fellowship has called on the government to identify and mark all accident blackspots along the highway as President William Ruto ordered thorough inspections of public service vehicles.
In his condolence message, President Ruto described the crash as a painful loss for the families and the country, and wished those injured a speedy recovery. He urged drivers, particularly those operating public service vehicles, to observe traffic rules and exercise caution.
Praise Chapel Kenya Bishop Tee Nalo, speaking on behalf of the Mombasa Pastors Fellowship, said the government should fulfil its commitments to improve safety along the highway, particularly around Mtito Andei, where he said potholes posed a danger to motorists.
He said the government had promised to introduce measures to prevent accidents at the blackspot following the October 4 crash at Salama, in which 17 pilgrims from St Mathias Mulumba Catholic Church in Mikindani, Mombasa, died when their van collided with a truck while travelling to the Subukia Shrine in Nyeri.
“But to date, nothing has happened. Most accidents occur because drivers try to avoid potholes, only to meet oncoming vehicles head-on,” he said.
Bishop Nalo also questioned why the number of heavy trucks on the highway had not reduced despite assurances that the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) would shift cargo from road to rail.
“We were promised that once the Standard Gauge Railway was operationalised, trucks along the highway would reduce, but today the opposite is true,” he said.
He urged the government to use the railway to transport more cargo from the Port of Mombasa and reduce the number of trucks on the highway, saying many fatal accidents involved heavy vehicles.
Bishop Tee Nalo (centre), Reverend Simon Menza (right) and other Mombasa Pastors Fellowship officials address the press on October 25, 2026, following the deaths of their members in the fatal bus-truck collision at Mtito Andei.
Photo credit: Kevin Odit | Nation Media Group
The fellowship also called for clear road signs at all identified blackspots to alert motorists and encourage caution.
Following previous fatal crashes along the route, Transport Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir said the Kenya National Highways Authority had completed designs for sections targeted for redesign and dualling. He said implementation would depend on the availability of funds.
Pastor Simon Menza appealed to the national government and the Mombasa County administration to support affected families with funeral arrangements and assist those injured.
President Ruto’s condolences came amid similar messages from political leaders, including ODM leader Dr Oburu Odinga, Mombasa Governor Abdulswamad Nassir and DCP leader Rigathi Gachagua who expressed grief over the deaths and urged road users to exercise caution as the festive season approaches.
