The stretch passes through an escarpment, a feature that made it impossible for motorists to maneuver.
Image: COURTESY
Hundreds of motorists and passengers spent Saturday night on the road following a traffic snarl-up along the Mai Mahiu-Limuru road.
A trailer stalled on the narrow road near the Italian Catholic Church forcing motorists to overlap thereby occasioning an eight-hour jam on the stretch.
Driver Eric Kuria blamed the jam on impatient drivers who ended up blocking both sides of the road leading to traffic gridlock.
The stretch passes through an escarpment, a feature that made it impossible for motorists to maneuver.
“The most affected were heavy vehicles as they could not drive back and we spent over eight hours before the smooth flow of traffic resumed,” Kuria said.
Meanwhile, a group of passengers narrowly escaped death after their matatu burst into flames along the Nairobi-Nakuru highway. The vehicle had developed a mechanical breakdown.
Passengers watched in shock as their personal effects went up in flames during the Saturday night incident near Ihindu trading center, some 15kms from Naivasha town.
Lack of water and strong wind made it difficult to put out the fire.
Witness Dan Kibe said the matatu was heading to Nairobi from Eldoret when it developed mechanical problems forcing the driver to park by the roadside.
It was while they were attending to the problem that the engine burst into flames. The driver and the passengers scampered for safety.
“Some of the passengers were still inside the matatu but they managed to escape through the windows,” Kibe said.
Naivasha police boss Samuel Waweru confirmed both incidents adding the flow of traffic had resumed in Mai Mahiu while no one was injured in the matatu incident.
“We had two incidents over the weekend but no injuries were reported. Overlapping drivers are to blame for the traffic snarl-up near Mai Mahiu," he said.