17 killed in multiple-vehicle crash on Nairobi-Mombasa highway
A multi-vehicle crash on the Nairobi-Mombasa highway in Kenya has resulted in 17 deaths. The accident involved a matatu and several lorries, leading to a chain reaction of collisions.
Why it matters
This tragic event highlights ongoing road safety concerns on major transit corridors in East Africa.
Scene of the accident where 17 people died on October 3, 2026 Seventeen people were killed in a multiple-vehicle crash at Mlima Kiu in Salama, Kilome, along the Nairobi-Mombasa Highway early Saturday morning.
The crash involved a 14-seater matatu, two lorries and several other vehicles, according to police and Sultan Hamud Sub-County Hospital Medical Superintendent Dr Stephen Mwangangi.
According to police at Salama Police Station, a lorry travelling from Nairobi towards Mombasa was involved in a series of collisions after its driver allegedly failed to keep to his proper lane while overtaking a fleet of vehicles.
Police said the lorry rammed into the rear right side of another lorry before the driver lost control.
The out-of-control lorry then collided sideways with an oncoming Peugeot and a Toyota Noah before swerving into the climbing lane, where it collided head-on with a PSV matatu.
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