Demo organisers to pay for damages on Expressway- Murkomen

Organisers of Wednesday's demonstrations will be forced to pay for the damages on the Expressway.

Speaking on Thursday, Transport CS Kipchumba Murkomen said that the government will ensure that organisers of the protests are also held liable for the damages caused on the Sh89 billion Expressway.

"Taxpayers will pay for damage on the Expressway. We will also ensure all those who organised the mass action will personally pay for every damage caused," he said.

The CS added that for every penny that will be paid from the exchequer, protest organisers will be asked to repay the people of Kenya.

During the Azimio la Umoja-led Coalition protests on Wednesday, protesters pulled down the Expressway barrier near Mlolongo.

While some of them were pulling the barrier, others were jumping and shouting, while others destroyed the flower containers lining the Expressway walls. 

As a result, the Moja Expressway Company announced that three toll stations will remain closed after vandalism by protestors.

In a statement on Thursday, the company said the opening of the Toll stations will be communicated later.

The stations include; Mlolongo, Syokimau and the SGR Toll stations.

The Expressway was built to decongest Mombasa Road, Uhuru Highway and Waiyaki Way.

The road has 11 tolling stations, 54 toll plazas, and 54 cameras along the  27km Expressway, with 126 cameras inside the toll plazas.

The road is monitored with recordings being done at 30-minute intervals.

There’s a smart monitoring system that detects congestion, spillage, vehicle reversals, pedestrian crossing and emergencies.

The dual carriageway has 11 interchanges at Mlolongo, Standard Gauge Railway, JKIA, Eastern Bypass, Southern Bypass, Capital Centre, Haile Selassie Avenue, Museum Hill, Westlands, and James Gichuru Road.

The Expressway, with 18.2km on the ground and 8.9km elevated, is a class A, four-lane dual carriageway with a design speed of 80km per hour.

The project is one of retired president Uhuru Kenyatta’s legacy.