Locals along Outering Road staged demonstrations on Friday following an accident along the busy highway.
Speaking to Kenyans.co.ke, National Traffic Commandant, Mary Omari, revealed that the accident occurred in the wee hours of Friday morning which resulted in the death of one person.
Irate over the matter, the nearby onlookers gathered around the scene and demanded to speak to the area Officer Commanding Police Division (OCPD).
At the same time, they blocked the road by barricading it with stones and lighting tyres on the highway.
Videos circulating online showed how the demonstrations disrupted traffic with a gridlock experienced during the rush hour.
Further, reports indicated that the gridlock denied ambulances and fire trucks access to Embakasi at a time when an explosion occurred in the Mradi area. The explosion has already claimed three lives, while over 200 people are currently nursing injuries.
Additionally, the traffic commandant did not comment on reports online alleging that there was a shootout between the police and a gang of thieves.
Kenyans online had lamented over the traffic disruption, wondering why they had spent hours along the highway.
"Siren sounds coming from Outering Road. What's happening?"
"Good, morning, what is not happening here in Outering Road? Jam began at Allsops to Embakasi, this is surreal."
"Too early to be sleeping on Outering Road Bana," read some comments.
Outering Road is regarded as one of the deadliest roads in Nairobi, according to data from the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA).
This is after 43 accident cases occurred last year along the road. Thika Road, however, topped the list with 44 crashes while Waiyaki Way recorded 23 cases. Mombasa Road and Northern Bypass had 17 accident cases each during the period under review.
