• Tenants have vacated after their buildings were marked for demolition, families living in fear of demolition and businesses have shut
• Residents say Transport CS James Macharia has failed to attend meetings with Senate Road committee three times to shed light on government plans
The government has been urged to stop the expansion of Waiyaki Way until those affected are compensated.
Many families, from James Gichuru road to Rironi, say they fear that their houses will be demolished, while others have closed businesses.
People Affected by the Project group chairman Kimani Njuki said Transport CS James Macharia has not been cooperating with other government agencies to facilitate compensation.
He said they have lodged their complaints with the Senate, the Kenya National Humans Rights Commission, among other agencies. The Senate Roads committee visited and promised to take up the matter, Njuki said. “They visited us on April 11. They were with other government agencies, but the CS did not come,” he said.
Senate Roads committee chairman Kimani Wamatangi said residents have a right to be compensated. He said the Senate will invite him again on a date to be announced later.
But Njuki said government agencies, including Kenha and Treasury, have been honouring Senate’s invites. However, he said, the CS has failed to honour the invites three times without an apology.
“We came here on May 9, then on May 21 and on May 30 during the National Prayers Day, but the CS did not come. The Senate committee members and other departmental heads have never failed to come,” he said.
“Some questions cannot be answered by anyone else apart from the CS,” he said.
Njuki said they will force the Senate to stop the Sh16.4 billion project, so they may be compensated.
The 26km project is funded by the World Bank.
“The Senate stopped us from going to court to stop this project early this year. We would have stopped it,” he said.
Njuki said businesses such as supermarkets, petrol stations, hotels and shops have been closed. Tenants have vacated from houses marked for demolition.
Pekangu Enterprises Limited director Peter Mwaura said he was forced to close a petrol station in Rironi.
Issac Kahura had taken a bank loan of over Sh400 million to build two flats. He said he is now struggling to pay the loan as tenants have vacated.
"The few tenants who had started settling vacated when the houses were marked for demolition. Everyone needs to live in a secure area," he said.
Njuki, whose Rokim Enterprises collapsed, is asking President Uhuru Kenyatta and Interior CS Fred Matiang'i to investigate what is stopping the compensation.
"People affected by World Bank projects are compensated before the projects they are funding start," Njuki said.