Nyeri witnesses heavy traffic jam

Heavy traffic was on Saturday evening witnessed in the usually sleepy Nyeri town.

The traffic, made of people coming from Dedan Kimathi University of Technology grounds where the beatification ceremony was held, was made worse by the high number of dignitaries, whose convoys snaked through the town’s streets.

Police officers blocked some of the streets to allow President Uhuru Kenyatta unveil a commemorative plaque in honour of Sister Irene.

However, all had seemed to be going well since morning with well-coordinated and organised private vehicles which were ferrying visitors to the venue as early as 6am.

Some 250 private vehicles had been assigned to offer transport services to guests attending the beatification ceremony.

Likewise, two transport information desks were set up at Our Lady of Consolata Cathedral premises in Nyeri town and at the university grounds.

“The two desks are acting as a one-stop shop for visitors and those who want to get transport to move around the venues during the three days,” Chairman of transport committee Gabriel Waitutu said on Saturday.

The services came at a fee which was negotiable depending on the distance covered, and they eased transport difficulties for the participants.

The roads leading to the sleepy village of Gikondi in Mukurwe-ini sub-county where Sr Irene worked, lived and died, had received a new lease of life in readiness for the big event.

Street lights were fitted and the old ones replaced by personnel from Kenya Power and litter collected, and for the first time Nyeri town residents witnessed county workers busy watering freshly planted flowers along the streets lanes.

Believers travelled long distances to witness the beatification.

Mr Paul Kanio, a farmer, spent Sh1,000 on transport to witness the once-in-a-lifetime event. Mr Kanio, 70, was born five years after the death of “Nyaatha” and was full of praise for the Catholic church.

“I have seen the church grow from a time when priests were the ones giving to a time when Christians support their upkeep. It has been an amazing journey,” he said, adding that he hoped his family would be blessed by his attendance of the special Mass.

Ms Nancy Wangari, 58, woke up at 4.30am to travel to Dedan Kimathi University with her colleagues from a Catholic women group at Kagisha Parish in Othaya.

She said the first time she heard of Sr Stefani was in 1969 while she was a pupil at Moboine Primary School.

“Our teacher used to tell us a lot of stories about Sister Stefani. He would tell us about her missions to treat the sick.

“I would be pleased if some of my grandchildren also decide to become nuns. I was toying with the idea of becoming a nun in my youth but my father could not let me,” she said.

Ms Wangari noted that she attended the mass with the hope that she would be cured of her “many illnesses”.