Residents of Kangema constituency in Murang’a county want a contractor working on Mau Mau roads passing through the area to redo the road.
Less than a month after the Kiruri Kanyenya-ini road was tarmacked, it has started wearing out and developing potholes.
Ann Mugure, a trader at Kiruri shopping centre, said they have been wading in mud for the last three years after the contractor left the site over unpaid dues in 2022.
“It has been a nightmare travelling in this area because the road had been levelled but was degraded by rains and ended up developing huge potholes that made it unusable,” she said.
When the government finally announced that the roads would be completed and contractors resumed work, Mugure said they were overjoyed, hopeful that their travelling ordeals had come to an end.
But she noted that soon after tarmacking, the road started developing rough patches that have continued to worsen with time.
The quality standards of the road, she added, were far below their expectations and the standards observed in the construction of other sections of the Mau Mau roads.
The 540 kilometres long roads project was started by the government in 2018 to upgrade roads that were used by Mau Mau veterans as they went in and out of the Aberdare forest to fight colonialists, and which had remained footpaths.
It also aimed at opening up areas neighbouring the Aberdare forest to boost agricultural activities and encourage tourism as a way of commemorating the fighters and cascading development in the areas.
The project also covers feeder roads that channel traffic to the trunk road to further enhance connectivity, and is done by various contractors.
The Sh30 billion project that covers Kiambu, Murang’a, Nyandarua and Nyeri has, however, been at the centre of Central politics for years since it stalled three years ago, leaving the parts that had been graded at the mercy of the rainy weather and causing suffering for residents.
“As a trader, I rely heavily on this road for my business. If it develops potholes a month after its tarmacking, how will it be two years from now?” she wondered.
Another resident, Harun Njuguna, asked the government to compel the contractor to redo the road so it can level up to other sections that have already been done.
Mwangi Susi, a boda boda rider, said the rough patches developing have left it with loose chippings that have caused numerous accidents for boda boda operators.
“I have
never seen such a situation anywhere else. This is not the normal kind of
tarmac,” he added.
Area MP Peter Kihungi, however, noted that he has reached out
to KeNHA and has been assured that the contractor will be required to redo the
section.
He said other roads previously done by the contractor under
the Mau Mau project have remained in good shape for years.
“Since I was elected, the same contractor has done 29
kilometres on Mihuti-Wanjerere-Kihoya-Rwathia road, and another one from
Karurumo to Tutho, and they have been okay”.
“Karuri-Wanjerere and Karati-Gondo were also well done, and
so was the Ichichi road that is currently on-going. The contractor has, however, stopped construction works because he was hoping to get paid for the Kiruri
road so he can continue with the others”.
The MP said after waiting for long, residents deserve good
quality roads that will serve them for many years without getting dilapidated.
