A team of police officers and officials from the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA)were ambushed on Friday, August 1, by a gang of armed goons while attempting to intercept an overloaded lorry along Mombasa Road at Athi River.
The officials under KeNHA's Axle Load Enforcement Highway Unit (ALEHU) were undertaking a routine inspection after receiving intel that an overloaded truck was unlawfully transporting construction materials on the road.
The operation was part of KeNHA’s ongoing crackdown on axle load violations, which threaten the integrity of national roads.
One of the intercepted trucks was carrying cargo that should have been distributed across at least two vehicles.
The officials had flagged down lorries transporting building materials in violation of axle load regulations; however, efforts to apprehend the transporters were foiled after goons attacked them.
According to Daniel Njoroge, CEO of Danka Ltd, the KeNHA contractor managing the Athi River cluster, the enforcement team was suddenly attacked by rowdy youth wielding stones and crude weapons.
"So today, from the intelligence we had gathered, there were some trucks that were overloading on the Mombasa Road, and we deployed our team to intercept the trucks, but unfortunately, the transporters mobilised goons who attacked us, and we were not able to apprehend the truck," Njoroge explained.
According to the officials, the goons stoned KeNHA’s vehicles, damaging both the windscreen and rear shield.
The officers were forced to retreat to avoid further violence, allowing the overloaded trucks to escape.
Superintendent Fridah Wanja, Deputy in Charge of the Road Enforcement and Highways Unit, condemned the attack and promised legal action against the transporters.
“We were acting on intelligence and managed to intercept two trucks. But due to the rogue behavior of the transporters, goons were mobilized to block our efforts. We are going to pursue the drivers and owners who facilitated this criminality,” she said.
Lately, the presence of goons has been prevalent in the country, with some of them going as far as attacking private businesses. This has continued to cause tension and concerns over the state of security in the country.
