22 killed as bus and tipper truck collide on Nairobi–Mombasa road in Makueni, Kenya

A bus and a tipper truck collided head-on near Kanga, in Makueni County, on the Nairobi–Mombasa highway on the morning of 25 October, killing at least 22 people. Makueni County Commissioner Abdullahi Khalif confirmed the toll, saying 22 passengers from both vehicles were dead.

The bus was carrying 45 passengers, and six injured people were admitted to hospital. The toll rose from 20 to 22 after two of the injured died, Capital FM reported.

The injured were taken to Mtito Andei Sub-County Hospital, and the dead to its mortuary. Dr Kevin Wamalwa, the hospital's medical superintendent, said, as quoted by The Star: "It is a serious accident. We are attending to those who have survived." He added: "We are compiling a list of casualties. Some died while undergoing treatment."

The bus lost control as it tried to overtake a line of vehicles, skidded and hit the oncoming truck, Xinhua reported. The cause of the crash has not been established. The bus was carrying people returning from a burial ceremony.

On 3 October, police said at least 17 people died in a multi-vehicle collision at Salama, also in Makueni County on the same road.

The Motorists Association of Kenya (MAK) responded to the Kanga crash with a list of demands, the Kenyan news site Kenyans.co.ke reported on 25 October. MAK called for the highway to be dualled quickly and for heavy commercial trailers to be separated from long-distance passenger buses. It also called for freight to be moved to the Standard Gauge Railway, whose Mombasa–Naivasha section is already operating.

Plans to dual the 461 km highway have stalled for nearly a decade.

The National Police Service and the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) are running a road safety campaign ahead of the December festive season. Figures cited in the campaign put road deaths in the 2025 festive season at more than 415, a 23 per cent rise on 2024. The NTSA estimates that roughly 4,000 Kenyans die on the roads each year.