Travellers stuck in nightmare traffic jam in Ahero as robbers have field day

Hundreds of travellers may be forced to spend the night at Ahero due to a nightmare traffic jam spanning several kilometres as Kenyans travel for Christmas festivities.

By 7pm on December 23, the traffic was at a standstill and opportunistic robbers began ransacking vulnerable travellers' vehicles as dark began to set in.

A number of travellers told The Standard the horror they have had to endure after being stuck in the jam for several hours.

Some have spent nearly five hours in traffic, without making any progress.

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Rosemary Muganda, one of the travellers said that she has been stuck in the jam since 3pm. She was driving home from Nairobi.

"Nothing is moving. I have been stuck here since 3pm," she explained.

She had left Nairobi at 5am and was expecting to reach Kisumu within six hours. The journey normally takes between five to seven hours in a private vehicle.

But she was not alone, a number of motorists described the turn of events as unfortunate.

Maurice Owino, a father of three who was travelling with his family to Siaya said that he has spent more than six hours in the traffic jam.

According to him, the problem was worsened by the lack of traffic police officers to control the movement of vehicles.

"There is no traffic police officer in sight. We do not know if we will be able to move. It is terrible for us who have small children, "said Owino.

A local journalist who had opted to take the Sondu route to avoid traffic jams in Awasi also found himself in the same fire as other motorists. He was among those stuck in the jam.

"It is very likely we are going to spend the night here," said the journalist.

A number of passengers who had boarded public service vehicles opted to alight before they reached their destinations and jumped onto boda boda's to find their way to Kisumu.

Those with personal cars, however, are anticipating a long night in the jam, even as a few robbers began looting some vehicles at nightfall.

Among the vehicles that had been looted included a sugarcane truck.

According to police, the long traffic jam currently being witnessed along Awasi-Ahero-Kisumu road is occasioned by the fact that there's is a drastic increase in the number of vehicles using the route.

This is according to Nyanza region traffic commandant Mwangi Ng'ang'a.

Mr Ng'ang'a said that they have noted that there are so many people travelling from cities to upcountry thus causing the jam.

"Road users have increased due to festivities and there's a lot of overlapping, there is no discipline on the road but our officers are trying to help." Mr Ng'ang'a stated on phone.