Six students were injured on Sunday evening, August 2, after a school bus ferrying them to the annual Kenya Music Festival overturned along the Bomet-Kaplong Highway in Soimet, Bomet County, sparking a chaotic nighttime rescue operation.
The bus, identified as belonging to Queen of Angels Comprehensive School, run by the Franciscan Sisters of St. Joseph, lost control at around 8:00 p.m. while transporting learners to the national finals of the festival. No other vehicle was involved in the crash.
“At around 8:00 p.m. tonight, a school bus ferrying students to the Music Festival overturned in Soimet, Bomet County. Fortunately, no fatalities have been reported. Several students sustained minor injuries and are receiving treatment at a nearby health facility,” a witness at the scene reported.
With the bus doors blocked following the crash, students were forced to evacuate through the emergency exit, assisted by bystanders and motorists who rushed to help moments after the accident. Nighttime images from the scene showed the yellow school bus lying on its side as crowds, including uniformed students, gathered around using flashlights and mobile phone lights to aid the rescue.
The six injured students were rushed to Kaplong Mission Hospital, where they are reported to be in stable condition. The cause of the crash had not been officially established at the time of publication, with authorities expected to investigate.
The Bomet-Kaplong Highway has a documented history of accidents, with a crash at Meja-Chepkosa as recently as May involving a pickup and a motorbike.
The incident adds to a troubling pattern of school transport accidents in recent months. In July, two school buses collided near Turkwel Dam in West Pokot, killing one person and critically injuring seven others, while a bus carrying 59 learners overturned along the Eldama Ravine-Nakuru Road in June, injuring everyone on board without fatalities.
Under the Traffic (School Transport) Rules, 2025, school vehicles carrying learners are required to operate only between 5:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m., with buses permitted to travel at night only without students aboard. The National Transport and Safety Authority has since late July intensified nationwide inspections under Operation Watoto Wafike Salama, targeting vehicles transporting learners during the holiday travel period, including checks on seatbelts, speed limiters, tyres and driver conduct.
The crash comes as the 2026 Kenya Music Festival national finals continue at Kibabii University in Bungoma County, drawing over 140,000 learners from all 47 counties in what organisers describe as the largest school arts and music competition in East and Central Africa.
