Chaos on Sololo-Moyale Highway as Furious Residents Torch Tyres Over ‘Abducted’ Elders
Transport along the busy Sololo-Moyale highway was brought to a standstill on Sunday morning after angry residents barricaded sections of the road while protesting the alleged abduction of two respected local elders in Marsabit County.
The demonstrators, mostly youths, lit bonfires using tyres and blocked the highway with stones at the Sololo junction, paralysing movement along the critical route linking northern Kenya to the Ethiopian border through Moyale.
Images and videos circulating online showed thick black smoke billowing into the sky as stranded motorists watched helplessly from both sides of the road amid rising tensions in the area.
Residents accused security agencies of remaining silent over the disappearance of the two men, who they identified as former chiefs currently serving as village elders within the community.
According to witnesses, one of the elders was allegedly taken from his home on Saturday night by armed men believed to have been operating in unmarked vehicles. The second elder was reportedly intercepted while travelling to Nairobi before being forcefully bundled into a vehicle by unknown masked individuals.
Their whereabouts remained unclear by Sunday afternoon, triggering outrage among locals who demanded immediate answers from the government.
“We want the two elders returned safely. The community deserves to know where they are and why they were taken,” one protester said during the demonstrations.
Traffic along the strategic highway remained disrupted for hours as transporters, traders, and passengers travelling between Kenya and Ethiopia were forced to wait amid fears of escalating unrest.
The protesters further claimed the two elders had recently spoken out over alleged administrative and boundary disputes involving parts of Marsabit County, accusations authorities had not publicly responded to at the time of publication.
In a strongly worded statement during the protest, some residents accused security officers of carrying out the alleged operation.
“Ex-senior chiefs were abducted by armed masked men believed to be National Police Service agents,” demonstrators claimed.
They further alleged that the elders were targeted for opposing what they described as “injustice” involving the alleged reassignment of areas within Marsabit County to neighbouring Wajir County through recent administrative changes.
“They were arrested because they stood against the alleged move of giving part of Marsabit County to Wajir County by gazetting Boranaland as part of Eldas Constituency,” another protester claimed.
By Sunday evening, neither the Ministry of Interior nor the National Police Service had issued an official statement regarding the alleged abductions or the claims raised by residents.
The incident comes amid growing national concern over reports of enforced disappearances and alleged abductions, with human rights organisations repeatedly calling on security agencies to uphold due process and publicly account for missing persons.
Local leaders have since appealed for calm while urging the government to launch immediate investigations into the matter before tensions spiral further.
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