- Lawyer Morara Kebaso claimed Metembe-Marani-Kegogi-Nyaore Road had been launched by Uhuru on April 28, 2016, and again by Ruto on August 13, 2024.
- State House Spokesperson Hussein Mohamed in his clarification said Kebaso got his facts wrong and sought to set the record straight.
In a world where fake news and AI-generated images have become commonplace, Kenyans are seemingly leaving nothing to chance and are going to extreme lengths to confirm that things are exactly as stated online.
This curiosity and growing desire for accountability especially on the side of the government appears to have conditioned people to refuse to take things at face value.
Perhaps pushed by the dictum ‘vitu kwa ground ni different’ (things on the ground are different), a resident of Kisii county calling himself Fully Focused Top G on X on Monday took a boda boda ride to a road construction site after State House dismissed claims that the project launched last week by President William Ruto had already been launched in 2016 by his predecessor, Uhuru Kenyatta.
Lawyer Morara Kebaso posted plaques of the road project to support his claims; one indicating Uhuru launched the upgrading to bitumen standards of Metembe - Marani - Kegogi - Nyaore Road on April 28, 2016, while Ruto did the same on August 13, 2024.
State House Spokesperson Hussein Mohamed in his clarification said Kebaso got his facts wrong and sought to set the record straight.
“Ndugu I (brother), stop misleading Kenyans,” he said. “The project was initially awarded on May 11, 2016, and works commenced on August 5, 2016, after its launch by President Uhuru Kenyatta,” Mohamed said.
He said the contract for the road was, however, mutually terminated on May 16, 2023, due to the contractor's non-performance.
Mohamed said some 27km of the 64.6 km road that crisscrosses Kitutu Chache North and South constituencies had been completed at the time of the contract termination after 77 months.
“The project was re-tendered and awarded on March 14, 2024, with works commencing on June 22, 2024. President William Ruto officially relaunched the newly awarded road contract, fulfilling his pledge to complete all stalled road projects,” he explained.
The State House spokesman posted photos of earth movers on site, complete with an August 19, 2024 date stamp indicating the images were current.
Unconvinced, Top G said he was headed to the site to confirm the details.
“Guys, this is my home area. Wacha niende niwapigie picha (let me go and take photos for you,” he said.
“Niko kwa nduthi. I'll be there in a few,” he added.
His post attracted several comments with one saying “weka evidence kwa kalatas. Weka pia number plate ya hizo machinery we do some due diligence”.
In his subsequent updates, Top G confirmed that indeed the road exists and work had been done and posted images to support his findings.
He, however, differed with Mohamed’s assertion.
“I'm at the exact place complete with the slanting electric pole and banana bush. However, people here are saying the construction started more than a month ago,” he said.
According to Mohamed, the contract period for the road works is 42 months and a further maintenance period of 36 months.
In his response to Kebaso that the road had been launched twice, Mohamed said: “A project launch is often just a ceremonial event, and it sometimes occurs after works have already begun, hence the phrase ‘official launch’.
“Don’t overly concern yourself with plaques. You should have gone to the Kegogi-Sombogo-Marani-Ititi section where works are ongoing.”