•Passengers claimed they were denied access even when some were transporting food and milk that are allowed.
•Matungulu assitant county commissioner Gerald Omoke said the officers were only enforcing the law.
Hundreds of passengers and motorists were stranded at the Athi bridge on Kangundo road as the police enforced the ban on entry into and exit from Nairobi metropolitan area.
The passengers expressed disbelief, alleging they were not prepared since the President's announcement came abruptly.
Most passengers and motorists were denied entry into the capital. President Uhuru Kenyatta on Monday declared cessation of movement into and out of Nairobi, Kilifi, Kwale and Mombasa counties for 21 days.
On Tuesday, passengers claimed they were denied access even when some were transporting food and milk to Joska, Kamulu, Kangundo and Tala.
Vegetable supplier Peter Kamotho asked why the officers barred him from entering Machakos county from Nairobi despite President Kenyatta allowing food and vegetables suppliers to move in and out of the counties.
He said the officers forced him to go back even after he showed them his documents.
"I work with Benfa Country Fresh, which exports fresh vegetables and was heading to Joska and Kamulu but I was stopped by officers who forced me to go back, saying I was not allowed to enter," Kamotho said.
He faulted the officers for their insensitivity.
"Some of these officers have not even listened to the President's directive. As part of the essential service providers we are allowed to move 24 hours," he added.
John Mbugua, a jua kali artisan in Nairobi, was among the stranded passengers. He said the officers told him he would be allowed if he produced his medical documents which he didn't have.
"We work in town and now we have been barred from accessing our work points. What are we going to eat because I stay in Kamulu and not in Nairobi but now i cannot go to work?"
Matungulu assitant county commissioner Gerald Omoke said the officers were only enforcing the ban and urged the passengers to heed the President's directives to curb the spread of coronavirus.
Omoke said there were challenges of controlling defiant Kenyans who used shortcuts to enter Nairobi.
He said the measures were not punitive but intended to save Kenyans from contracting the highly infectious virus.
The President, while addressing the nation on Monday, said 82 per cent of Covid-19 cases were in Nairobi and 14 per cent in the coastal counties.
The cessation of movement started in Nairobi on Monday at 7pm, while in the other counties it will begin on Wednesday.
On Monday night some Kangundo residents were stranded on the road for several hours before the officers allowed them to go to their homes.
Edited by Henry Makori