NAIVASHA, Kenya — Dozens of motorists and passengers were forced to spend the night on the Nairobi–Nakuru Highway on Friday after hours-long traffic congestion brought movement to a standstill along key sections of the busy corridor.
The gridlock, which stretched for several kilometres, was reported along the Mai Mahiu stretch in Naivasha and the Salgaa–Mau Summit section, with vehicles stuck for more than seven hours in some areas. Public Service Vehicles (PSVs), trailers, and private cars were affected in both lanes, effectively shutting down the highway.
Multiple motorists attributed the congestion to ongoing roadworks, while others blamed lane indiscipline, with some drivers overtaking dangerously in an attempt to beat the festive rush.
“Cars were overlapping, and no one wanted to give way. Once it locked, there was no movement for hours,” said a bus driver who spent the night near Salgaa. Several passengers were forced to sleep inside vehicles after failing to secure an alternative shelter.
Footage circulating online showed long lines of stationary buses and heavy commercial trucks, with movement reduced to a crawl well into the night. Police officers were deployed to manage the situation, but efforts to ease the congestion proved largely ineffective.
The traffic chaos comes at the height of the festive travel season, when thousands of Kenyans travel from Nairobi to Western Kenya, Nyanza and the Rift Valley.
On Saturday, the Motorists Association of Kenya (MAK) accused the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) of poor planning and failure to mitigate the impact of road maintenance works during peak travel periods.
“Scheduling and timing road works when thousands of Kenyans are travelling for the holidays is callous, insensitive, and directly contradicts KeNHA’s stated mandate of providing seamless connectivity,” the association said in a statement.
MAK further alleged that congestion along the Mai Mahiu, Gilgil, Salgaa, and Kikopey sections was being “artificially engineered” to justify the proposed tolling of public highways.
“We reject this bad administration and demand accountability, transparency, and people-centred planning that prioritises safety, mobility, and the dignity of motorists,” the association added.
KeNHA had not issued an official response by the time of publication, though the authority has previously defended maintenance works as necessary to improve long-term road safety and durability.
The traffic snarl-up comes amid heightened government focus on festive season safety. Earlier this week, security agencies advised travellers heading to Western Kenya and Nyanza to consider alternative routes, including the Nairobi–Suswa–Narok road, to ease congestion along the escarpment.
Road safety experts warn that prolonged congestion increases the risk of accidents, fatigue-related incidents and emergency response delays, particularly along high-risk corridors such as Mai Mahiu and Salgaa.
As holiday travel peaks in the coming days, motorists have been urged to plan journeys in advance, exercise patience, and adhere to traffic rules to avoid a repeat of Friday’s ordeal.
