Heavy traffic disrupts transport on Nairobi-Nakuru highway

 

It is a situation that Naivasha residents are not accustomed to.

But now traffic jams are the order of the day in the town as thousands of motorsport enthusiasts make their way to the World Rally Championship (WRC) Safari Rally that is on it's third day in the region.

Public transport operators who ferry passengers in and out of Naivasha are facing unending nightmares.

With major roads closed to allow the smooth flow of the Safari Rally, the traffic jam has been unavoidable.

Nation Sport caught up with a clearly agitated Benjamin Ndegwa, a cab driver, near the Naivasha junction.

Ndegwa said he had been stuck in the same place for more than two hours having left his Molo backyard in the wee hours of Saturday.

“I was supposed to pick a client at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport but I cannot make it. I have to engage another cab operator to pick the client, which means additional charges,” said Ndegwa.

That is the situation that the motorists plying the busy Nairobi-Naivasha highway have to contend with as thousands of people troop to the Rift Valley town to watch the WRC event.

“I expected to face challenges on my way to Nairobi but not of this magnitude,” said Ndegwa.

It was the same scenario on Friday night with all the major roads within Naivasha congested.

A police officer told Nation Sport at least 10 minor road accidents were reported on Friday night.

“We are yet to record serious road accidents but the minor ones are just too many, some resulting from drunkenness,” said the officer, who cannot be named as he is not authorised to speak to the media.   BY DAILY NATION