Commuters spend the night in the cold after a traffic jam in Kimende

Overwhelmed police officers retreated from the road leaving chaos spiralling for miles as motorists rushing to western Kenya for the weekend remained stranded.

The traffic chaos started near Limuru around 5pm and continued throughout the night, forcing many to spend the night in Kimende, Sokomjinga and other shopping centres along the highway.

The traffic jam, which lasted for more than 12 hours, left hundreds of people stranded.

As temperatures dropped, desperate travellers lit bonfires to keep warm and scenes from the night were captured and widely shared on social media.