This archive report was first published on 5 November 2019.
On November 5, 2019, Outer Ring Road in Nairobi became an unlikely cowshed as cattle roamed freely on the highway, leaving motorists and pedestrians in shock.
The cattle, estimated to be between eight to 15 cows, were spotted grazing on dumpsites and even opting for rotten food leftovers from kiosks and mama mboga stalls over green grass.
Residents of Embakasi were left stunned to find the unattended cows sleeping on the zebra crossing, causing traffic snarl-ups as both motorists and pedestrians tried to find space on the highway.
“Isn’t this a wonder of the world, cows without a herder roaming freely and turning our beautiful highway into their shed? The ministry of tourism should turn this road into a tourist attraction,” said Edward Orioki, a resident of Pipeline Estate, in Embakasi.
The cows, however, seemed to be streetwise, differentiating between vehicles and the locomotive train plying the Eastlands route. When a train hooted from a distance as they were resting on the railway line, they scrambled to safety – but remained unmoved whenever a motorist honked their vehicle.
Residents who had to risk their lives crossing the busy highway, which lacked designated bus stops or footbridges, were now calling on the Kenya Urban Roads Authority to restore sanity on the 13km highway.
