'Simama na ugeuke!' Tense day for Nakuru as drama festival Gala takes centre stage
Traffic builds up leading into Nakuru city centre at the CIGMA roundabout during the Statehouse gala drama festival event on April 16, 2025.
In just two hours, President Dr, William Ruto was expected at Nakuru State House to witness SOME exhilarating performances marking the close of the 63rd edition of the National Drama and Film Festival.
Anticipation hung heavy in the air, and the atmosphere outside the premises was charged with quiet and a hint of fear owing to the heavy police presence.
School buses lined up at Lenana School Primary and JSS, where participants had been dropped off ahead of the event, as students and teachers made their way to the venue on foot.
Security was tight.
Road leading to Statehouse from Mololine stage was cordoned off at war memorial hospital ahead of the drama festival gala event on April 16,2025.
On normal days, vehicles drive freely along the Mololine - State House link road as people walk around the mowed, lush green helipad thanks to the recent rains, minding their business.
Today, no vehicles or nduthis were allowed past the closed Nakuru War Memorial Hospital, aside from the big guzzlers and perhaps those in dire need of accessing the Nakuru Annex Hospital just a few meters ahead.
The road leading up to State House was firmly under lockdown, patrolled by over ten blue and green uniformed stern-faced officers directing both traffic and people.
Passengers on nduthis were forced to alight after police shouted at the bodaboda riders to “simama na ugeuke!”.
Traffic eases up after dignitaries land in Nakuru Statehouse for the drama festival gala event on April 16,2025.
A frustrated teacher barked at her students, “Si mkimbie... kwani nyinyi ni viwete?” just before sprinting off, with the last of the students struggling to keep up in a ‘polite’ jog as a nearby officer gestured for them to run and urged them with a curt, “Kaza!” The teacher, already ahead, lamented, “Tulikuwa tumefika alafu tukafukuzwa.”
A small crowd of curious onlookers had gathered quietly at the gates of the closed hospital nearby some perched on stone ledges, others resting under the shade all peering toward the State House gates, hoping to catch a glimpse of the high-profile arrival or simply soaking in the rare buzz that had taken over the otherwise quiet neighbourhood.
By 11:06 a.m., a sleek black-and-silver modern chopper descended a team quickly assembled to secure whoever had landed into a waiting vehicle to be ferried to the venue.
Traffic along key routes was halted, and over ten police officers formed a tight perimeter near the landing zone.
At exactly 11:10 a.m., another brief traffic freeze, lasting just four minutes, was enforced to allow the individual who’d just landed to alight and proceed toward the State House grounds, where the final drama and film performances awaited.
Directly opposite State House, another set of curious bystanders stood patiently near the perimeter fencing for the railway station.
The green space opposite Nakuru statehouse where about six blue-uniformed officers patrolled monitoring foot traffic ahead of the drama festival gala event on April 16,2025.
About six blue-uniformed officers patrolled the green space, their eyes sweeping side to side, carefully monitoring foot traffic.
This set, too, barked orders in the unpolished, sometimes jarring tone that often mirrors how the public stereotypes the police.
“Pitia pale chini!” one officer shouted, pointing toward the footpath. The man she addressed barely tried to explain as he meekly followed instructions complaining ‘naenda town’.
After their entrance to State House, things seemed to slightly revert to normal but vehicular traffic remained tightly controlled, with officers still directing movement and keeping certain access points restricted.
And at around 1:30 p.m, the man of the hour landed, ready to be entertained.