Three pastors drawn from the Bangladesh informal settlement in Mombasa lost their lives on October 25, when a church bus was involved in a devastating collision along the Nairobi-Mombasa highway.
The bus, which was carrying members of the Mombasa Pastors Fellowship, crashed at approximately 7:45 am at Kanga, near Mtito Andei, claiming 24 lives in total.
According to eyewitnesses, the bus belonging to the Power of the Word International Church collided with a cargo truck while attempting to overtake.
Twenty passengers died at the scene, while four others later succumbed to their injuries during treatment.
The Three Fallen Ministers
In the wake of the tragedy, the Bangladesh slum’s religious community has been left with a particularly heavy loss.
Among the dead were Pastor Joseph Vura of the Campaign for Salvation and Healing Ministry Church, Apostle Fonex Paul of the River of Restoration Church, and Pastor Isaac Juma of the Grace Healing Church.
The group had travelled to western Kenya to pay their last respects at the funeral of the late Reverend Kanan, a fellow minister and colleague.
They were on their return journey to Mombasa when the tragedy unfolded.
Survivors Hospitalised
The 24 survivors of the crash were rushed to Makindu Sub-County Hospital, Kibwezi Hospital and Mtito Andei Hospital for emergency treatment.
Church leaders have since called on the government to provide specialised medical support for the critically injured, many of whom remain in hospital care.
Back in Mombasa, congregations in Changamwe and surrounding areas gathered for emergency vigils and prayers as news of the deaths spread through the closely-knit religious community.
The loss of three spiritual leaders simultaneously has left many in the Bangladesh settlement struggling to comprehend the scale of the tragedy.
Pilgrims Died on Same Road Weeks Earlier
The October 25 crash compounds an already painful period for Mombasa’s faithful who were yet to heal from a recent tragedy.
Just weeks earlier, on October 3, 2026, 17 Catholic pilgrims from Mikindani in Mombasa perished in a separate accident along the same stretch of highway.
The latest tragedy makes the Nairobi-Mombasa road a site of repeated heartbreak for the coastal city’s religious communities.
