Why Motorists On Nairobi-Nakuru Highway Were Stranded for 12 Hours at Kimende
Motorists travelling to and from Nairobi faced a nightmarish ordeal on Friday July 19 night after being trapped on the Nairobi-Nakuru Highway for over 12 hours.
Police blamed the situation on an earlier protests by locals in Kijabe area who had blocked the road to protest against Kenya Power and Lighting.
They complained of frequent power blackouts in the area and demanded restoration of power supply. They claimed a transformer had been stolen hence the situation.
The chaos went on affecting the traffic flow.
This caused a jam on the road prompting impatient motorists to overlap.
Overwhelmed police officers withdrew from the road leaving chaos spiraling for kilometers as motorists rushing for weekend to western Kenya trapped.
“We couldn’t do much. The overlapping motorists did not help the situation,” said a police officer.
The traffic chaos began near Limuru at around 5 pm and continued throughout the night, forcing many to spend the night at Kimende, Sokomjinga and other shopping centers on the highway.
The traffic gridlock extending beyond 12 hours, left hundreds stranded.
As temperatures dropped, desperate travellers lit bonfires to keep warm, with scenes of the night captured and shared widely on social media.
The Kenya National Highway Authority (KeNHA) has not explained the issue.
Affected motorists used social media to express their frustrations and anger over the issue.
One commuter posted on X, “From 2am till now, still at Kimende.”
Another lamented, “We’ll definitely not move today.”
The frustration was palpable as another wrote, “The situation at Kimende is wanting. Everybody is stuck in the jam, including schoolchildren. Please let the relevant authority do something.”
This incident is not isolated. In April, another severe traffic jam in the same area trapped motorists for several hours. On that occasion, KeNHA acknowledged the situation with a brief statement but did not provide a detailed explanation for the delay. They merely alerted motorists of a snarl-up between Kijabe and Soko Mjinga due to an incident.
The current scenario, however, appears more severe, with no clear resolution in sight.
Travellers continued to share their predicaments in real-time, highlighting the dire need for a prompt and effective response from the authorities.
As dawn broke on Saturday, there was still no sign of relief. The highway, a vital artery connecting Nairobi to other parts of the country, remained clogged.
The lack of communication from KeNHA has only exacerbated the situation, leaving motorists and their families in a state of uncertainty and frustration.
The Treasury reports that an average of 16,000 vehicles traverse the Nairobi-Mau Summit section of the corridor each day. In Nakuru, traffic volumes peak significantly, surging to as many as 40,000 vehicles daily.
The blockage has had a ripple effect, impacting not just travellers but also businesses relying on timely deliveries and commuters needing to reach their destinations urgently.