Joy has turned to mourning for a Kenyan family following a fatal crash on the Nairobi-Mombasa Highway.
What was supposed to be a happy journey home after a weekend of wedding celebrations ended in tragedy during the early hours of August 26, 2026.
According to family members, the family had just gathered to celebrate a cousin’s wedding.
Alex Kazungu Mbitha, a 45-year-old Superintendent of Prisons (SSP) attached to the Mombasa Remand Prison, was driving his family home when the unthinkable happened.
At approximately 3:30am near Konza, a Beiben truck traveling in the opposite direction reportedly veered into Kazungu’s lane.
This resulted in a catastrophic sideways collision with the family’s Mitsubishi Mirage.
Tragically, the impact claimed the lives of Kazungu and his 14-year-old daughter, Claire Heri, both of whom died at the scene.
“The tragedy struck at a particularly raw moment… the family had just attended the wedding of a cousin sister before the fatal journey home,” shared Kazungu’s cousin, Baraka Chula, expressing the family’s deep shock and grief on Facebook.
While the loss is unimaginable, three other occupants of the Mitsubishi Mirage survived the horrific crash. They were rushed to Machakos Referral Hospital, where they are currently receiving medical care:
Rebecca Mumbi 44, Kazungu’s wife, who sustained a head injury, Fredrick Fatani Mbitha 23, currently being treated for a head injury and Michelle Xidi Gideon 15, is being monitored for chest pains.
Officers from the Salama Traffic Base immediately responded to the scene.
According to police report the accident involved two vehicles, Kazungu’s Vehicle, Mitsubishi Mirage and the Truck Beiben truck (Reg: KDB 834P/ZE3491), driven by 52-year-old Japheth Ludiema.
The bodies of the deceased have been preserved at the Machakos Referral Hospital morgue pending a postmortem examination.
Both vehicles have been towed to the Salama Police Station as authorities inspect the wreckage and investigate the exact circumstances that led to the truck crossing lanes.
