The passengers were on their way back to the coastal city of Mombasa after attending a funeral in the Mwatate area, Taita Taveta County, on Saturday evening.
Mwatate Police Chief Morris Okul told The Associated Press that the driver of the bus survived and was hospitalized in critical condition.
“The survivors told us they were 34 people on board excluding children,” Okul said. Children in Kenya often travel sitting on parents' laps, even up to the age of 15.
The accident happened in a hilly area that is a known accident blackspot.
Okul said the bus brakes failed, but the Inspector General of Police, Japhet Koome, said the driver may have been coasting in neutral when he lost control.
“There’s a tendency of long distance drivers freewheeling to save on fuel. This is carelessness because in case of an emergency one has no control,” he said.
The mourners had traveled more than 150 kilometers (more than 90 miles) to attend the funeral and were returning late in the evening.
