21 Die After School Bus Ferrying Mourners From Kisumu Overturns
Five others are in critical condition, with an additional 15 sustaining injuries.
Marvin Chege 
21 people are reported to have died following a grisly road accident involving a hired school bus that occurred on Friday, August 8 along Kisumu-Kakamega Road at Coptic Roundabout.
Confirming the accident was Nyanza Regional Traffic Commander Peter Maina. The passengers were reportedly coming from a burial at the Kisumu Nyahera area when it overturned.
Although the exact cause of the crash is still unknown, preliminary reports suggested that the driver lost control, causing the bus to swerve off the highway and overturn.
Five others are in critical condition, with an additional 15 sustaining injuries. Photos seen by Viral Tea revealed the badly damaged remains of a bus owned by a local high school, with additional images capturing residents gathering at the crash site.
The mangled wreck of the bus that overturned at Coptic Roundabout at the Kisumu-Kakamega highway on Friday, August 8, 2025. /NYAKUNDI REPORT
Witnesses recounted a chaotic scene, saying passengers were flung from the bus on impact.
Coptic Roundabout has a notorious reputation as a black spot. Residents attribute the frequent accidents to flawed road design, inadequate and unclear signage, and careless driving.
Most of the crashes at the spot typically involve trucks or buses overturning. This is largely due to the steep gradient of the road, which presents a serious challenge for drivers of heavy commercial vehicles in transit.
Locals have repeatedly pointed to poor road design as a key factor behind the frequent crashes, specifically highlighting the descent from Riat Hills to the roundabout as the section where most drivers tend to lose control.
So far this year, three accidents have already occurred at the Coptic Roundabout, which sits on the dual carriageway linking Kisumu and Vihiga counties near Riat Hills.
On July 15, a bus from Uzima University carrying students and staff for an academic trip overturned, killing one staff member and injuring 46 others after the driver lost control near the roundabout.
Less than two weeks earlier, on July 3, a lorry headed to Kisumu overturned at the same spot, killing three and critically injuring five others who were rushed to Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital. In April, an Easy Coach bus was also involved in a deadly crash at the roundabout, claiming the life of a high school student and injuring several others.
Today’s fatal incident follows another recent accident along the Kisumu-Busia highway in Sirwa Posta, Vihiga County, where a bus carrying students from Salvation Army Imusutsu High School lost control and overturned, leaving several learners injured.
That came hours after six people lost their lives after a cargo train crashed into a Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) staff bus at Morendat Junction in Naivasha, Nakuru County.
