17 MOMBASA PILGRIMS PERISH ON JOURNEY TO SUBUKIA MARIAN SHRINE FOR NATIONAL PRAYER DAY
Seventeen pilgrims from the Catholic Archdiocese of Mombasa have perished in a road accident while travelling to the 2026 National Prayer Day at the Subukia National Marian Shrine in the Catholic Diocese of Nakuru.
The pilgrims, from St. Mathias Mulumba Mikindani Parish, died in the early morning of Saturday October 3rd 2026 in a multi-vehicle collision at Mlima Kiu in Salama, Kilome along the Nairobi- Mombasa road in Makueni County.
Archbishop Kivuva in a letter addressed to priests, religious men and women and the lay faithful of the Catholic Archdiocese of Mombasa, moaned the deaths of the 17 pilgrims.
“We are saddened with lots of grief to announce the untimely passing of seventeen 17 pilgrims from St. Mathias Mulumba, Mikindani, in an accident that occurred at Salama,” he said.
In the Subukia Shrine celebrations, welcoming pilgrims to mass celebration, the Chairman of the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB), Archbishop Maurice Muhatia of Kisumu, expressed condolences to the families and the bishops’ solidarity with the Catholic Archdiocese of Mombasa.
“We remember in a special way other pilgrims from the Archdiocese of Mombasa who were headed here but could not arrive due to a road accident,” Archbishop Muhatia said.
He conveyed the Bishops’ Conference’s condolences to Archbishop Martin Kivuva, Archbishop of Mombasa, and Archbishop Dominic Kimengich, Coadjutor Archbishop of Mombasa, following the loss of the pilgrims.
“All of them were from one parish and all of them perished in the accident,” Archbishop Muhatia said.
The authorities and delegation from the Archdiocese of Mombasa have since confirmed the identities of those who died and receive them following postmortem examinations. Their bodies have since been transferred from Sultan Hamud Sub-County hospital by their families for funeral arrangements in different parts of the country.
The Archdiocese has invited all the Christian fraternity for a joint requiem Mass for the deceased scheduled for Thursday, October 8, at 10 a.m. at St. Mathias Mulumba Mikindani Parish, where the pilgrims worshipped.
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.
