Travellers, including tourists heading to Masai Mara, were stranded for hours after the Government closed the Narok-Mai Mahiu road.
Tourists vans seeking alternative routes were stuck in the mud for the better part of Friday as the Government moved to repair the damaged section of the 98km road.
The road, which is barely one year old after it was commissioned by President Kibaki, was closed by the Kenya National Highway Authority on Thursday after huge cracks emerged following heavy rains in the area.
At the damaged section, 5km from Mai Mahiu town, vehicles snaked for more than 10km on both sides of the road.
Public service vehicles plying the route took advantage of the situation and doubled fares.
Government officials said it would take more than four days to repair the damaged section.
Mr James Mungai, a tour driver, said he had been stranded on the diversion for over three hours with tourists from Spain.
“We are heading to Masai Mara but we have been stranded on this section for over three hours and we ask the Government to address this matter urgently,” he said. However, a tourist, Amir Shah, said the journey was enjoyable despite being stuck in the mud for hours. “We are not sure what time we shall reach the Mara but we hope that the rains won’t catch us here again,” he said.
“We have been in Kenya for five days and we have never witnessed anything like this and we ask the concerned persons to repair it,” he added.
Fares doubled
And PSV drivers said they were dropping and picking passengers on either side of the road to avoid using the longer Kisii-Nakuru road.
“The closure of the road has adversely affected business and it’s impossible to use the Nakuru route as it’s long and expensive,” said Joel Mwangi, a driver.
Passengers complained fares had been doubled making it impossible to reach their destination.
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