KISUMU, Kenya (BN24) — Twenty-two victims of last week’s Kisumu-Kakamega highway bus crash in Kenya were laid to rest in a solemn mass funeral on Saturday, as grieving families and political leaders gathered to mourn and demand urgent action to improve road safety.
The interdenominational service was held at Naki Primary School, where rows of identical coffins bore testimony to the scale of the tragedy. Families, friends, and community members wept openly as they remembered loved ones whose lives were cut short in the deadly accident.
“It is a day of great sorrow,” one mourner said, recalling the loss of two pastors in the crash. The grief was mirrored by heavy skies over the gathering, as the community joined together in mourning.
Political leaders present turned their condolences into calls for change. Kisumu East MP Shakeel Shabir condemned the dangerous Coptic roundabout, saying its design had cost many lives. “That roundabout has killed very many people. When I was coming here, I was proud to see it had been taken away. Whoever did it, I don’t know,” he said, while urging accountability in roadworks.
Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, who narrowly survived an accident at the same location years ago, called on the government to immediately redesign the road to prevent further deaths. He also used the occasion to denounce corruption, urging reforms across Kenya’s judiciary, legislature, executive, media, and private sector.
Kisumu Governor Anyang’ Nyong’o announced that KSh 7 million, contributed jointly by President William Ruto, Raila Odinga, and the county government, will be distributed to support the bereaved families, particularly orphans and children left behind.
The mass funeral comes amid growing pressure on authorities to fix the Kisumu-Kakamega road, where repeated accidents have claimed scores of lives. For many families, Saturday’s burial was both a moment of grief and a rallying cry for justice and reform.
