A three-hour mass at St Mathias Mulumba Catholic Parish in
Mikindani, Mombasa county, on Sunday turned into a solemn farewell for 17
parishioners who died in a road accident while travelling to Subukia for the
National Prayer Day.
The pilgrims were killed in the early hours of Saturday when
the Toyota Hiace van they were travelling in was involved in a crash at Mlima
Kiu near Salama along the Nairobi-Mombasa Highway.
They were headed to the National Shrine in Subukia, Nakuru
county, for the annual National Prayer Day when tragedy struck.
The Catholic Archdiocese of Mombasa on Saturday released the
names of the 17 victims in a statement signed by Coadjutor Archbishop Most Rev
Dominic Kimengich.
Those who died are Janet Miitto, Florence Atieno, Jane
Mwakamba, Josephat Mekonge, Hilkah Orina, Linah Akinyi, Veronicah Musyimi,
Martha Nzyoki and Ann Mwanthi.
The others are Sarapia Mwarimbo, Scholastica Ochieng, Catherine
Joseph, Beatrice Oluoch, Veronica Ngandi, Regina Mwai, Samuel Muigai and Samuel
Mwanyasi.
The mass, led by Archbishop Kimengich, brought together
grieving families, parishioners, political leaders and members of the wider
Catholic community as the church struggled to come to terms with the scale of
the tragedy.
For many of those gathered, it was not simply the loss of 17
parishioners. They were mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, friends, church
workers and familiar faces who had been part of the daily life of the parish.
Parish priest Fr Patrick Maingi said the 17 occupants of the
van had been identified by Saturday, paving the way for postmortem.
He said the church was coordinating with the families and
authorities on the next steps, including the transportation of the bodies to
Mombasa.
Fr Maingi said the annual pilgrimage to Subukia is organised
through the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB), with Catholics from
different parts of the country travelling to the National Shrine for prayers.
The National Prayer Day is held on the first Saturday of
October every year.
He said the church usually supports pilgrims from
metropolitan areas, including Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu and Nyeri.
This year, however, financial challenges meant the parish
could not secure a bus for the journey.
“We could only support 27 members to travel,” Fr Maingi
said.
The parish priest recalled the final moments and
conversations he had with some of the pilgrims before they left Mombasa.
Among them was Sarapia Mwarimbo, a Taita woman who had never
travelled beyond Voi and was excited about visiting Nakuru.
“She used to say she had never been past Voi. She was born
and raised in Taita and married in Taita. She really wanted to travel to
Nakuru,” Fr Maingi said.
He said Mwarimbo was among the parishioners who had looked
forward to the pilgrimage.
“She really wanted to travel to Subukia for the prayers,” he
said.
Another victim, Veronica Ngandi, had been preparing for
marriage.
Fr Maingi said she had introduced her fiancé to the family
and part of the dowry had also been paid.
“She told me, Fr, I’m going to Subukia, and when I come
back, I would come to you with my partner. She has left without doing that,” he
said.
The journey also ended the life of Scholastica Ochieng, whom
Fr Maingi described as a committed member of the parish.
He said Ochieng was known for her discipline in giving tithe.
Every month, she would faithfully give Sh9,500 as her tithe.
Before the pilgrims left Mombasa, Fr Maingi said, Ochieng and
other members insisted on fulfilling their religious obligations before
embarking on the journey.
“She would give her tithe very religiously. Before they
travelled, they said they would not want to travel without giving their tithe.
They gave and asked me to pray for them on Sunday,” he said.
Florence Atieno had also been preparing for Sunday services.
Fr Maingi said she had prepared a headscarf for women who
were scheduled to serve in church on Sunday.
Instead, the church gathered on Sunday to mourn her.
“I believe they are all in heaven,” Fr Maingi said.
The parish priest said the church had received assurances
that the bodies were being preserved well at Sultan Hamud Hospital mortuary.
He said discussions were under way on whether all the bodies
would be transported back to Mombasa or whether individual families would
collect their loved ones from Sultan Hamud.
Mombasa Governor Abdulswamad Nassir said the county
government would meet expenses related to the tragedy.
“Your pain is my pain, your tears my tears. Losing 17
members from this church is not easy,” Nassir said.
The governor said he learnt about the accident from his
deputy, Francis Thoya, and immediately contacted the Makueni governor to
coordinate the response.
“I called the Makueni governor to coordinate the programme
to ensure our brothers and sisters who died in the crash are taken care of,” he
said.
Nassir said the county would cater for expenses arising from
the tragedy and urged political and religious leaders to work together.
“We should now start working together and as brothers and
sisters, without the issue of religion,” he said.
He asked the church and families to take the lead in
deciding how the bodies should be handled.
“I ask the church to be at the forefront to lead this
programme. The church should make the decision, with the family, on whether we
should send the bodies home or bring all the bodies back to Mombasa for a
special prayer,” he said.
Nassir said his office had facilitated families to travel to
Sultan Hamud for the postmortem process.
Jomvu MP Badi Twalib said President William Ruto had
personally contacted him and pledged support for all the families affected by
the tragedy.
“President Ruto personally called me and confirmed he will
support all the families of the 17 victims,” Twalib said.
He said the presidential support would be communicated to
the families through the church.
Twalib added that he had agreed with Governor Nassir that
postmortem and hospital-related expenses would be handled by the county
government.
“We are waiting for the PS call on further directions,” he
said.
Other Mombasa leaders also mourned the victims.
Mombasa Senator Mohammed Faki sent condolences to the
bereaved families, saying the tragedy had affected people beyond the immediate
parish community.
He said one of the victims had worked with his wife at the
Postal Corporation of Kenya and was approaching retirement.
County executive Ibrahim Khamis also lost a sister-in-law,
Ann Mwanthi, in the accident.
Mombasa Woman Representative Zamzam Mohammed said she
personally knew Mwarimbo, whose daughter is enrolled in her Second Chance
programme.
Zamzam said the programme currently supports 32 girls from
the Catholic church and pledged to work closely with the parish following the
tragedy.
“I personally knew Mama Sarapia Mwarimbo. Her daughter is
under one of my programmes, the Second Chance. Under the programme, I have 32
girls from the Catholic church. We will work closely with the church,” she
said.
Makueni police have said all 17 occupants of the Toyota
Hiace died in the crash.
The van was a private vehicle for hire contracted by
Mikindani Catholic Parish to transport the pilgrims to Subukia.
Two other passengers who had been travelling in a Toyota
Noah involved in the accident were rushed to hospital for treatment and were
later discharged.
The 17 victims were identified through a passenger manifest
provided by Fr Maingi, allowing preparations for the postmortem to proceed.
Sultan Hamud Hospital administrator Dr Stephen Mwangangi
said the families of the victims had arrived at the facility ahead of the
postmortem exercise.
The National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA)
dispatched a team to the scene to establish the circumstances of the crash and assess
the condition of the vehicles involved.
NTSA said the section of the highway where the accident
occurred had previously been identified as a black spot and that road safety
recommendations had been made concerning the area.
Investigations into the circumstances surrounding the fatal
crash were ongoing.
Instant analysis
The deaths of 17 Catholic pilgrims from Mikindani Parish have cast a dark shadow over this year’s National Prayer Day, turning a journey of faith into one of Kenya’s latest road tragedies.
The victims were travelling to Subukia when their hired
Toyota Hiace was involved in a crash at Mlima Kiu near Salama.
