Hundreds of matatus and buses plying the Nairobi route from Eldoret, Kitale, Bungoma and Lodwar were grounded following President Uhuru Kenyatta’s ban on movement into and out of the capital.
The new measures are aimed at stopping the spread of the coronavirus. Most infections have been recorded in Nairobi and the Coastal region.
By Monday, 158 people had been infected; six deaths were recorded.
Some matatu saccos were forced to re-route to towns outside Nairobi. Many matatus from the North Rift only ferried passengers to Naivasha, Nakuru, Nyahururu, Kisii and Narok, among other areas.
More than 2,000 long-distance matatu shuttles plying the Nairobi route from the region were affected by the ban.
The North Rift Shuttle, which is the largest with more than 600 matatus, grounded more than three-quarters of its fleet in Eldoret and other towns.
“We have effectively lost jobs until things normalise. We can’t ply routes for which we are not registered,” driver David Ngugi said.
Some drivers who live in Nairobi and had ferried passengers out of the city said they were stranded because they could not travel back to the capital.
Eldoret Shuttle, Northeast and Turks shuttle were among the saccos that grounded their vehicles in the region until further notice. A few passengers turned up but were turned away.
Administrators and county officials were sensitising residents on the ban while trying to help the most vulnerable people stranded by the ban.
“If you had planned to travel to Nairobi, just cancel all that because if you do travel we will stop you on the Nairobi-Nakuru border. So don’t waste your time. Just follow the President's orders," Rift regional coordinator George Natembeya said.
Police erected roadblocks on major routes to inspect vehicles, mostly those heading to Nairobi. Only those ferrying food stocks and those classified for essential services were allowed to go on.
Uasin Gishu county commissioner Abdirisack Jaldesa said they would enforce all measures including the curfew, the ban on public meetings, ensuring social distancing, handwashing and use of masks, among others - and the ban on travel to the Nairobi Metropolitan Area.
Meanwhile, chairman of the Muslim Imams and Preachers in Rift Valley Abubakar Bini accused the police of continued brutality against the public while enforcing the curfew. This happens despite an apology from the President and a directive to stop the harassment, he said.
Bini said unnecessary acts of harassment and brutality in Eldoret and other parts of the region persist despite some police having been interdicted.
He wants Police IG Hillary Mutyambai to investigate human rights abuses by rogue officers, then arrest and prosecute them if warranted.
(Edited by V. Graham)
