Motorists plying the Kisumu-Kakamega road were stranded for hours on Sunday, January 1, after a pastor held an impromptu prayer service on the highway.
Footage seen by Kenyans.co.ke showed the pastor and congregants kneeling in a circle in the middle of the road heavily engrossed in intercessory.
The group caused traffic disruption, forcing some drivers to seek alternative roots.
However, Bishop Anthony Achesa told the media that the spiritual intervention has helped reduce the number of road accidents along the stretch.
"Some of the carnage can be linked to the forces of darkness and that is why we are here today," he told Citizen TV.
Achesa disclosed that he began holding prayers on the road every year since 2017. He and his team set camp at multiple shopping centres.
He reckoned that there was a prevalence of recklessness and a general don't-care attitude by road users, which often lead to accidents.
The man of cloth rebuked motorists who got behind the wheel when under the influence and asked authorities to fish out all the non-licenced drivers and vehicles from Kenyan roads.
Police officers from nearby stations arrived at the various prayer points to control traffic in the area.
In the past week, several Kenyans have lost their lives in accidents. On December 29, several people were feared dead following a head on collission along the Nairobi-Nakuru highway.
The accident involved a Climax coach bus, and three other vehicles including a probox which was hoisted above one of the vehicles.
On December 30 2021, Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen announced that the government would be vigilant along the roads to curb road crashes during the festive season.
Murkomen further recommended the suspension of the license awarded to Modern Coast over the rampant accidents involving its buses.
