Nairobi-based private detective Jane Mugo on April 17 confronted police officers at the Thika Superhighway roadblock after motorists were blocked from using the road for hours.
Police officers had mounted a roadblock at the busy highway on Saturday night to enforce the 8 pm - 4 am curfew.
Footage obtained by Kenyans.co.ke shows Jane Mugo alighting from her car before demanding to speak to the officer in charge of the operation.
She claimed a pregnant woman was among those held up in the traffic - and was in a bad state of health.
“I am coming from Muthaiga Police Station to drop police officers after work. There is an expectant woman who needs urgent medical attention. Even if the President or Police IG ordered the roads closed you should have reserved one lane for emergency vehicles,” the detective told the OCPD who asked her to call IG Hillary Mutyambai.
Mugo filmed the incident way past 9 pm with the motorists stuck in traffic for an hour.
“I am trying to call the Inspector General of Police but I cannot reach him. This is so bad, do Kenyans deserve this? Is it fair to block a woman who needs medical attention,” she said, adding that it was not possible to arrest all the motorists on the road.
She appealed to President Uhuru Kenyatta to intervene and, rallied other motorists to share their grievances.
The footage showed an ambulance operated by the Nairobi Metropolitan Services stuck in the traffic snarl-up despite having its siren on.
The motorists then started screaming and chanting approaching the police roadblock. Motorists claimed that police officers had threatened to block the road until 4 am.
The superhighway was eventually opened some minutes to 10 pm but the snarl-up took much longer due to many cars involved. The traffic jam persisted as late as 11 pm.
Other than Thika Superhighway, several major roads leading in the city including Langata Road, Mombasa Road, Waiyaki Way and Jogoo Road had police roadblocks causing major traffic gridlock, with no cars allowed in and out of the city.
{"preview_thumbnail":"/files/styles/video_embed_wysiwyg_preview/public/video_thumbnails/SbW-R61mYl0.jpg?itok=nmg2T0bw","video_url":"
