NAIROBI, Kenya (OSV News) -- Catholics in the Archdiocese of Mombasa held an Oct. 8 memorial service for 17 pilgrims killed in a road accident while traveling to Nakuru in northwestern Kenya for the country's National Prayer Day.
Relatives, friends and worshippers gathered at St. Mathias Mulumba Church in Mikindani district in Mombasa to honor the 14 women, two men and their male driver, all from the parish, who died in the tragedy. They were traveling to the Subukia National Marian Shrine.
Coadjutor Archbishop Dominic Kimengich of Mombasa in his homily assured the Church's closeness to the families who lost their loved ones.
"Today we mourn our fellow brothers and sisters, but we are not mourning without hope. ... They were part of our family, they were part of our parish and touched our lives in one way or another," said Archbishop Kimengich.
"The brothers and sisters were not traveling to Subukia as tourists, but as pilgrims. They were people of faith. They decided to make a pilgrimage to Subukia to know God more. … Their journey was not futile. … We believe they are now in heaven."
After the Mass, families transported bodies of their loved ones for separate burials since the victims hailed from different parts of Kenya. On Oct. 7, a candlelight vigil was held at the parish to pray for those from the community who lost their lives.
The group of pilgrims was killed along the Mombasa-Nairobi Highway. Multiple vehicles were involved in the accident, which was triggered after a truck lost control. A total of 20 people died in the early morning accident.
"It is a very somber mood, and the people are really affected," Father Raphael Kanga, who heads the communications office of the Archdiocese of Mombasa, told OSV News.
"Most of the people who died were leaders of small communities and groups in the Church," he added.
"Let us pray for the repose of their souls as we pray for their families, St. Mulumba parish and the archdiocese as a whole, so that we may find solace and consolation in the road," Archbishop Martin Kivuva Musonde of Mombasa told OSV News in a statement Oct. 3.
In opening prayers during National Prayer Day Oct. 3, Archbishop Maurice Muhatia Makumba, president of the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops, expressed the bishops' condolences, read out the names of the pilgrims who were supposed to pray at the event, and urged the prayer gathering to remember in a special way those who died in the accident.
"They were coming here and did not make it because of a road accident," said Archbishop Muhatia.
President William Ruto said he was saddened by the deaths, while expressing his condolences to the families, friends and the entire Catholic Church in Kenya.
"We stand with them at this difficult time and pray that God grants them strength, comfort and peace," said Ruto in a message of condolence. "We pray for the swift recovery of those injured in the accident. May the souls of the departed rest in eternal peace."
Road accidents in Kenya kill roughly 3,000 to 4,000 people a year. In the first six months of 2026, the accidents claimed at least 2,150 lives, according to the Kenya Red Cross.
