7 killed in Salama accident, dozens sustain severe injuries

Seven people have been confirmed dead and 27 others sustained severe injuries after an accident that involved four vehicles in the Ack Salama area along the Mombasa- Nairobi highway, in Makueni County.

The accident occurred at around 9.30PM on Sunday, involving a bus, a trailer and two other private vehicles.

Hussein Abduba, who is the Mukaa sub-county police commander, confirmed the Sunday road accident involving a PSV and a lorry.

According to Hussein, the bus belonging to Rambo Sacco was heading towards Nairobi. But on reaching the Machakos-Wote junction, past Salama town,it collided with a lorry coming from Nairobi, killing 7 people.

‘’The lorry left its lane and entered the opposite lane,’’ added Hussein.

Those who died in the fatal accident include four men and three women who were on the bus. While those who were injured  were rushed to Sultan Hamud Hospital for treatment as the vehicles were towed away from the scene. 

Road accident data according to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics and National Police Service highlights shows a worsening national road safety crisis, with fatalities and total crashes consistently trending upwards.

In 2026, Kenya continues to face a critical road safety crisis.

National Police Service (NPS) data shows that over 2,000 people have been killed in road accidents so far this year, with pedestrians recording the highest fatalities (799), followed by passengers (318) and motorcyclists.

Traffic authorities blame the rising death toll on localized behavioral and infrastructural deficiencies such as reckless driving where drivers unsafely overtake on single-carriageway highways.

Examples being the Nairobi-Nakuru and the Mombasa-Nairobi roads. The authorities have also cited other factors like infrastructure gaps where lack of designated footbridges and walkaways forcing pedestrian mixing with high-speed traffic.

pedestrians, drivers and other road users are urged to observe the stipulated road guidelines and rules. This way, lives are not lost out of careless mistakes that could have been avoided.