The Mombasa County Government will meet funeral-related expenses for 17 Catholic pilgrims from St Matthias Mulumba Catholic Church in Mikindani who died in a road crash while travelling to Subukia National Shrine in Nakuru County.
Governor Abdulswamad Shariff Nassir said the county would also assist the bereaved families with transporting the bodies, depending on arrangements agreed upon by the families and the Catholic Church.
The victims were travelling to Subukia National Shrine, also known as the Village of Mary, to attend the annual National Prayer Day when the vehicle they were travelling in was involved in a fatal multi-vehicle collision along the Nairobi-Mombasa Highway.
The 17 victims comprised 14 women, two men and the driver. They were members of the Mikindani parish and included parishioners involved in various church groups.
The pilgrims left Mombasa on Friday afternoon for Subukia, where thousands of Catholic faithful were expected to gather for the National Prayer Day.
Father Patrick Maingi, the parish priest, said he blessed and saw off the pilgrims at about 3pm on Friday before they began their journey.
Their trip ended in tragedy early Saturday after the vehicle carrying the group was involved in a collision at Mlima Kiu in the Salama area of Makueni County.
Police and other authorities have launched investigations into the circumstances surrounding the crash.
Governor Nassir spoke at St Matthias Mulumba Catholic Church in Mikindani, where families, parishioners and religious leaders gathered for a special Mass to pray for those who died and support their grieving families.
He said Mombasa County officials were working with authorities in Makueni on the post-mortem examinations and identification of the victims as families prepared to receive their remains.
The tragedy has left the Mikindani parish mourning the loss of a large group of its members at the same time, with relatives travelling between Mombasa and Makueni as they worked through the identification and funeral arrangements.
The Catholic Archdiocese of Mombasa confirmed the deaths and called on parishes to remember the victims and their families in prayers during Sunday Masses.
The Archdiocese also released the names of the 17 people who died in the crash.
The mourning has brought together Christian and Muslim leaders, who joined families and parishioners at the Mikindani church to offer condolences and support.
The crash has also renewed attention on road safety along the Nairobi-Mombasa Highway, one of Kenya's busiest transport corridors.
The National Transport and Safety Authority has deployed a team to investigate the collision as authorities continue to establish the circumstances surrounding the crash.
Motorists have meanwhile been urged to exercise caution as investigations continue.
For the families of the 17 pilgrims, a journey that began as a trip for prayer and worship has instead become a period of mourning as they prepare to lay their loved ones to rest.
