Goons block Thika Road at Pangani, rob motorists

Traffic along Thika Road was brought to a standstill on Friday morning as protesting youths blocked sections of the highway, disrupting transport and sparking fears among motorists.

The unrest was reported around the Pangani section of the highway, where groups of youths allegedly blocked parts of the road, forcing motorists to seek alternative routes.

Witness reports revealed that some of the suspected protesters were armed with machetes and other crude weapons as they marched along the busy road.

Footage showed heavy traffic building up as smoke rose from the roadside, with several people seen running while others moved between vehicles amid the chaos.

Videos and images of the scene also captured motorists cautiously navigating the affected stretch as tension gripped the area.

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As tensions escalated, the rowdy youth, whose motive for demonstrating is yet to be clearly established, allegedly began pelting moving vehicles with stones, vandalising property and targeting passersby.

The disruption left hundreds of commuters stranded as traffic stretched for several metres along the highway, one of Nairobi’s busiest roads linking Nairobi to Kiambu County.

By the time of publication, the National Police Service (NPS) had not issued an official statement on the incident or confirmed whether any arrests had been made. 

Similarly, reports of injuries, casualties and property damage remain unclear even as Kenyans took to online platforms to request police intervention on the incident.

The latest incident has renewed concerns over the use of organised criminals and goons to infiltrate protests, with motorists increasingly becoming targets of vandalism and theft in such situations.

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