News From Home: Highway Crash, Eastleigh Collapse and Exams This Week

Pole sana, family. It has been a heavy few days at home.

If you have been checking on loved ones at home, here is a plain-language look at what happened and what’s coming this week. Some of these figures are still changing, so treat any number as a snapshot.

A deadly crash on the Nairobi–Mombasa highway

On the morning of Sunday, October 25, a bus collided with a cement truck near Mtito Andei in Makueni County. At least 24 people died and another 24 were injured. The bus was carrying church members home to Mombasa from their pastor’s funeral in western Kenya (Al Jazeera, AP News).

The cause is still under investigation, though officials and the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) have pointed to dangerous overtaking.

It came just three weeks after 17 people, most of them Catholic pilgrims, died in another crash on the same highway. What officials have ordered and called for:

• President Ruto ordered inspections of public transport vehicles.
• Transport CS Davis Chirchir promised tougher enforcement against speeding and unsafe overtaking.
• The NTSA has called for road crashes to be declared a national disaster (Al Jazeera).

If you’re travelling home for the holidays, or sending fare for relatives to travel, it’s worth talking with family about choosing reputable bus companies and avoiding night travel where they can.

The search continues after the Eastleigh building collapse

A multi-storey building under construction on 9th Street in Eastleigh, Nairobi, came down on Friday, October 23. As of Sunday, four people had been pulled out alive (AP News).

The Kenya Red Cross said it had received 47 missing-person reports. Nine of those people have since been found safe, and 38 cases were still open (Daily Nation).

Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja says county records show the building never had approved architectural plans, and he has asked why earlier suspects were released on bail (The Standard).

If you’re worried about someone who may have been in the area, families are being asked to report to the Kenya Red Cross desk at the site or call the emergency line 1199 (Radio47).

KPSEA and KJSEA exams start today

On a brighter note, 2,586,491 Grade 6 and Grade 9 learners begin their KPSEA and KJSEA national assessments today, Monday, October 26. KPSEA runs through Wednesday, October 28, and KJSEA through Friday, October 30 (The Standard).

If you have a niece, nephew or godchild sitting them, a quick “kila la heri” message from Canada goes a long way.

Quick takeaways

• At least 24 people died in Sunday’s Mombasa highway crash, the second deadly crash on that road this month.
• The Eastleigh rescue is still going on. Families looking for someone can call 1199 or go to the Red Cross desk at the site.
• Grade 6 and Grade 9 national assessments run all this week.

Our thoughts are with every family who lost someone this weekend. If your family has lost someone, our guide to what to do when someone dies covers Ontario, the High Commission and taking a loved one home.