MOMBASA, Kenya – More than 3,000 mourners gathered at St Mathias Mulumba Catholic Church grounds in Mikindani on Thursday to bid farewell to 17 parishioners killed in the deadly Salama road crash in Makueni County.
The grounds, usually filled with the sounds of football matches, fell silent as relatives, friends and faithful assembled for a requiem Mass marked by tears, prayers and solemn hymns.
The service also honoured the driver of the ill-fated van, who was Anglican, as religious leaders and members of different faiths joined the Catholic community in mourning the victims.
The 17 parishioners had been travelling to the Subukia National Marian Shrine for the annual National Prayer Day when the van was involved in the fatal accident along the Nairobi-Mombasa Highway in the early hours of Saturday.
Instead of returning home to share their experiences from the pilgrimage, the group left behind grieving families and a community struggling to come to terms with the loss.
Portraits of the deceased were placed at the foot of the altar as mourners carried flowers, photographs and memories of their loved ones. Relatives were overcome with emotion as religious leaders led prayers for the departed and their families.
Archbishop Comforts Grieving Families
Mombasa Catholic Coadjutor Archbishop Dominic Kimengich led the requiem Mass, offering words of comfort to the bereaved families.
“Their journey was not in vain,” Kimengich told mourners.
“We believe they are in heaven, tasting the joy of the heavens. Every soul shall make that journey.”
Dean of the West Deanery Sylvanus Kizito said the pilgrims had left home expecting to return with stories of their spiritual experience at Subukia, but their journey had ended in tragedy.
“They would have returned to tell us their testimonies of how Subukia was. Instead, we are gathered to tell testimonies of how they lived,” he said.
“They left us with pain. The pain of death. The pain of never getting to see them again.”
Joseph Mwathi, speaking on behalf of the bereaved families, acknowledged the devastating impact of the deaths while expressing acceptance of God’s will.
“But we accept the will of God,” he said.
Different Faiths Unite In Mourning
The tragedy brought together leaders from different religious communities, reflecting the wider loss felt across Mikindani.
Bishop Lambert Mbella of the Redeemed Gospel Church said the deaths were not only a loss to the Catholic Church but to the entire community.
Rahma Shahbal, representing her husband, East African Legislative Assembly lawmaker Suleiman Shahbal, conveyed a message of solidarity to the families.
“Your tears are our tears,” she said.
She also quoted the Quranic phrase, “Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’un,” meaning that people belong to Allah and to Him they return.
Mombasa Governor Abdulswamad Nassir pledged the county’s support to the bereaved families and the church, acknowledging the pain of losing loved ones.
“The souls of the righteous are in the hand of God… Even Jesus wept when Lazarus died. And if Jesus can weep, are we not to weep?” he said.
State Support For Bereaved Families
Area MP Badi Twalib said each bereaved family would receive a share of the Sh12.5 million provided by the State to support those affected by the tragedy.
He said the driver’s family had already received its share.
Mombasa Woman Representative Zamzam Mohamed also pledged to support the education of Patience, the daughter of one of the victims.
The commitments offered some support to families facing the difficult task of rebuilding their lives after the sudden loss of loved ones.
As the requiem Mass came to an end, mourners were left to confront the painful reality that the 17 parishioners who had set out together for Subukia would never return home.
