A section of the Kisumu–Kakamega highway was temporarily paralysed on Thursday, July 3, 2025, after a group of unidentified youth lit bonfires along the busy stretch, causing heavy traffic snarl-ups and panic among motorists.
In a video clip shared by a local television station, police officers could be seen already on the scene, with some directing vehicles away from the smoke-filled blockade while others attempted to control the crowd.
The reason behind the obstruction remains unclear, although it came just moments ahead of a high-profile opposition rally in the region.
The day began early in Kisumu, where top opposition leaders, among them Wiper Party boss Kalonzo Musyoka and former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, landed at Kisumu International Airport to kick off a multi-stop mobilisation drive across key counties in Western Kenya.
From Kisumu, the entourage proceeded to Luanda in Vihiga County, where a sizeable crowd received them with cheers, placards, and chants calling for political change.
The team then made its way to Mbale town in the heart of Vihiga County, addressing locals along the road in brief stopovers that drew hundreds of supporters.
According to a livestream shared on Rigathi Gachagua’s official page, the team had, by mid-afternoon, arrived in Kakamega County, specifically in Lubao, continuing what has now been dubbed a “Western wave” by online supporters.
While there has been no official statement linking the road blockage to the opposition’s visit, the timing raised eyebrows, particularly given the heightened political atmosphere and ongoing anti-government demonstrations being led by the Gen Z movement in other parts of the country.
Another video shared on Facebook by user @BenKinyua captured the moment when more than three tyres blazed intensely, sending towering plumes of thick black smoke into the sky at a section of the road where massive twigs and branches had also been laid to create a blockade.
Several people had already gathered and could be seen observing from a distance as the situation escalated, with police officers and a few youths making attempts to clear the burning tyres from the road.
Source: Peopledaily
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