Motorists spend the night in cold as trucks block busy road

Hundreds of motorists and passengers were stranded for 16 hours in a massive traffic jam between Mombasa and Mazeras towns.

The jam started building up on Monday afternoon and lasted up to Tuesday morning. It stretched for more than 20km, disrupting traffic on the busy Mombasa-Nairobi highway.

Last evening, vehicles snaked through Miritini and Jomvu, as traffic police officers struggled to clear the road.

There were claims that the crisis was caused by an alleged go-slow by police officers demanding salary raise.

“On Monday evening there were few traffic officers who were sluggish in clearing the road. At night they went and left us in the crisis,” claimed a truck driver who declined to be quoted for fear of reprisal.

Transporters also accused Talewa Construction Company of taking too long to complete the works.

“Repairs on this road have been going on without any sign of completion. Traffic snarl-ups here are a nightmare and have contributed to huge losses for truck owners and cargo congestion at the port,” said Kenya Transporters Association chief executive Jane Njeru.

“We are giving the contractor up to end of December to complete the repairs failure to which we will use every available legal means to ensure the contract is terminated.”

Developed potholes

Coast provincial traffic boss Joshua Omukata refuted claims police officers were on a go-slow. “The road developed potholes after two days of rains. Trucks approach the potholes very slowly and some break down, creating the massive traffic jam that extended all the way to the Makupa Causeway,” he said.

“The overlapping matatus complicated the situation…as we talk now we are on the ground trying to manage the jam,” he added.

Mash East African Ltd Bus Company general manager Abeid Said asked Road minister Franklin Bett to cancel the contract of the contractor for doing a shoddy job.

“He has been on that section for almost a year doing nothing. It is shameful that the minister is busy campaigning. We need him down here to issue proper directives. We want this problem fixed immediately,” he said.

But Talewa Construction company managing director John Wainaina blamed the jam on indisciplined motorists.

“The other problem is that there are two junctions within a short distance and when trucks turn they clog up the highway. We are trying our best to complete the repairs as fast as possible,” he said.

On Monday, hundreds of Nairobi-bound passengers spent the night at Jomvu.

“Our bus left Mwembe Tayari around 9.30pm but our journey ended at Jomvu where we stayed until this morning (Tuesday) 7am. I have never witnessed such a horrific traffic jam,” said Mr Isaac Kiprop.