Nairobi — Muthurwa residents on Wednesday morning blocked matatus from using the estate as an entry into the terminus, citing excessive disturbance.

Using huge stones, the residents erected barricades on the road through the estate, making it impassable for the matatus.

The early morning incident hampered the flow of traffic into the Muthurwa matatu terminus, forcing hundreds of city residents to walk to the Central Business District from as far as the City Stadium.

Some of the affected motorists also claimed that the estate's residents had attempted to stone their vehicles, prompting them to terminate their journeys on Landhies Road and at the City Stadium roundabout.

Serve as exit

On Tuesday, the Government established more entry points to the terminus on Landhies Road, leaving the initial entry lane near the City Stadium roundabout to serve as an exit.

The new arrangement saw a reduction in traffic congestion that had become the order of the day on Jogoo Road since Thursday when the matatus were barred from driving into the city centre.

But on Wednesday, the jams were back following the resident's move. They claimed that the speeding vehicles were a danger to their children.

"The movement of the matatus through the estate raises a lot of dust which is getting into our houses. They also make our houses shake," Ms Mary Akinyi, a resident told the Nation.

Riot police officers from the Central police station who had gone to arrest the situation, were forced to clear the entrance which had been blocked with large stones.

Appeals to the residents to assist in clearing the road fell on deaf ears as they threatened to return the stones. However, flow of traffic into the terminus was restored after several hours of the standoff.

Commuters continued to call on the Government to restore normalcy on the route. They asked that the needs of vulnerable groups such as pregnant women, young children, the disabled and the sick are considered as they are suffering.

On Tuesday, Transport PS Gerishon Ikiara asked the Transport Licensing Board to establish a bus service to serve the CBD.