Traffic along the busy Nairobi-Mombasa highway was on Wednesday disrupted in the Kiboko area after residents staged protests over the killing of a middle-aged man by a local businessman.
The demonstration has brought transport to a standstill, with a major traffic snarl-up reported on both sides of the highway. Businesses in the area have also been forced to close temporarily as tensions escalated.
Protesters blocked the road using large stones and burning tyres, effectively cutting off movement along the vital transport corridor.
According to eyewitnesses, the businessman, who also works as a teacher at a nearby school, allegedly teamed up with another individual to lynch the victim on suspicion of theft from his shop in the market.
Demanding immediate apprehension of the accused, the enraged locals barricaded the highway with stones and burning tyres, causing a major traffic snarl-up.
Police officers were deployed to the area, who were forced to use tear gas to disperse the angry protestors.
Authorities are yet to issue an official statement on the matter.
Meanwhile, in a related incident, hundreds of angry residents and business owners from Githogoro slums blocked the Northern Bypass in Runda, protesting a four-month power outage on Tuesday.
The residents argued that the power outage had negatively impacted their businesses and livelihoods as a result of insecurity.
During the protests, some cheeky residents took advantage of the situation to force motorbike riders to buy oranges from them before they could be allowed to pass.
However, police officers managed to intervene and clear the major road after they lobbed tear gas at the demonstrators.
In October last year, a section of the Nairobi-Mombasa highway was also rendered impassable at Imara Daima after residents staged protests over evictions.
The Nairobi-Mombasa is an important highway that serves 90 per cent of cargo from Mombasa Port to Nairobi and other parts of East Africa.
On average, over 1,000 trucks use the highway daily, each carrying goods worth Ksh5 million to Ksh10 million.
