Nairobi residents heading home on Saturday evening were met with a rude shock after the police shut down major routes including Thika Road.
Citing the 8pm curfew rule, security officers were adamant that residents would not be let through until 4am, when the curfew ends. Hundreds of Nairobi residents were stuck on busy routes including Waiyaki Way, Lang’ata road and Ngong road.
Those stranded took to social media to share their predicament, YouTuber Diana Marua saying, “They have said we shall spend the night on the road till 4am. The cars are not moving on either side and there’s an ambulance with a patient here, who will also have to wait. This is just before Mountain Mall.”
The only feedback several commuters plying Thika Road were given was that the police officers were “following orders from above”.
“We have been in this gridlock for almost three hours. I am at Allsops … vehicles are going as far back as Muthaiga. They (police) are telling us that we will sleep here tonight,” a woman said in a video shared online.
The distance between Allsops and Muthaiga is about 7 kilometres.
Four kilometres ahead, at Mountain Mall along Thika road, the situation was not any better. Motorists blared their horns, hurled insults at authorities and screamed, demonstrating frustration.
Several videos posted online showed gridlocks on all lanes from the central business district. There were no vehicles on the lanes from the CBD but they had also been blocked.
The temporary roadblocks were also mounted at Kayole Junction, Wilson Airport, Lang’ata Road, Mwiki, Kasarani, Junction Mall, Coptic Hospital, Arboretum, Ruai, Utawala, Two Rivers and at Kenyatta University Hospital.
“Even those listed as essential workers are not being allowed to pass through yet they have permits proving they are allowed to work past the curfew hours,” one motorist said.
The curfew exemption covers medical professionals, pharmaceutical companies, national security officers, licensed media houses, the Kenya Revenue Authority, the Kenya Civil Aviation, the Kenya Airport Authority, power production companies, among others.
Police finally allowed motorists using Thika Road to drive through the blockages. Reports indicated the highway was clear as at 11.45pm.
