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Mombasa Road: Thousands stranded in 13-hour traffic jam – PHOTOS


Motorists and commuters spent Saturday night stranded on Mombasa Road following a massive traffic jam that extended for over 13 hours.

The gridlock estimated to have started at around 10pm Saturday had not been cleared by 1pm Sunday.

Trucks, buses, matatus and personal vehicles switched off engines on the strethcd from Athi – River to Chumvi junction that branches off to Machakos town.

According to Machakos County Commissioner Matilda Sakwa an accident at Prima Rosa which involved a truck and a pick-up caused the gridlock.

The driver of the pick-up died on the spot.

Police spent Saturday night  and Sunday morning trying to clear the traffic jam to no avail.

“Traffic officers have been trying to clear the jam,”Ms Sakwa said.

PHOTO | COURTESY
PHOTO | COURTESY

Matters were made worse by the fact that there were three major events that took place in Machakos on Saturday.

UHURU IN MACHAKOS

President Uhuru Kenyatta was in Machakos for a burial, while Gor Mahia played Bandari FC at Kenyatta Stadium in Machakos in a Kenya Premier League fixture.

There was also a live concert at the People’s Park which hado attracted fans from Nairobi, making commuting on the Mombasa highway a nightmare.

The road is also undergoing construction to turn it into a dual-carriageway.

PHOTO | COURTESY
PHOTO | COURTESY

Matters were made worse by a heavy downpour that pounded the area overnight.

A traveller who spoke to Daily Nation said he had to alight from the vehicle and use a motor bike from Simba cement to Chumvi junction a distance of about five kilometres. He paid Sh300 for the ride.

Other travellers chose to walk on foot rather than spend the night in the vehicles.