Sara Nashivanda did not know that a brief conversation at 11am would be the last time she would ever see her mother alive.
Her mother was one of the 17 people killed in the Salama accident along the Nairobi-Mombasa highway, a multi-vehicle crash that claimed the lives of Catholic pilgrims who were travelling to Subukia Shrine on October 3, 2026.
Among the victims were members of a Mombasa congregation whose names have since emerged in the days following the tragedy.
Sara moves Kenyans with emotional tribute
Speaking in an interview, Sara described her mother as the foundation of their family, a woman who raised four children on her own without ever letting them feel the absence of a second parent.
“She has been the perfect role model. She has been a dad and mum to me,” Sara said.
Sara is the last-born and only daughter in a family of four, with two older brothers. She said accepting the loss has been the hardest thing she has ever faced, but her faith is holding her together.
Sara recounted her mum’s last promise
“It is so hard to take it but all in all I just have to accept it. There is nothing else that I can do except to accept God’s plan. I can’t undo it. It is the way it is and God has a reason. There is a purpose why it has happened. I will be strong for her,” she said.
The night before the accident, Sara and her mother spoke on the phone at around 8 pm. Her mother promised they would talk again once she arrived at the destination. That call never came.
The last time they saw each other in person was around 11 pm, when her mother told her she had left her with everything, urged her to take care of herself and stay well.
Sara recalls mum’s final instruction
“That was the last word she spoke to me face to face,” Sara said.
Sara’s account is among the deeply personal stories emerging from the Salama crash, which has left multiple families in mourning across the country.
The pilgrims were on a journey of faith when the accident cut their lives short, leaving behind children, siblings and communities grappling with sudden and profound loss.
