Fear as Murang'a road sinks a second time

Families near the Kiriaini-Kangema road are living in fear after part of the road collapsed.

The government completed the rehabilitation of a section of the road at Kanjama four months ago after one of its two lanes veered off into farms in late 2018, forcing motorists to use one lane.

The contractor scooped off the loose soil metres into the ground and reconstructed the road.

But the road has once again collapsed on the opposite side, crushing its foundation and the culverts installed to support it and facilitate drainage.

Stephen Gichohi who lives just below the raised road said every time it sinks, the road affects his farm.

He said his farm develops hills as the impact of the road raises the soil, making it uneven.

In 2018, Gichohi's farm moved five feet into his neighbour’s and they had to engage a land surveyor to reconstruct their boundaries.

This time, however, it is his neighbour’s farm that has moved into his and the same process will have to be repeated.

Over six streams that crisscross his farm make the sound of a small waterfall.

 He said the streams were not there before the tarmac road started sinking. Downstream, the streams form a small river when they merge.

The underground water passes through his cowshed near his home but he said the house is still safe to live in.

“I have been forced to cut down all trees in my farm especially near my home to avoid accidents when they get uprooted by earth movements,” he said. The family does not sleep when it rains over fears of being swept away.

Gichohi said the only help they need is for the government to properly reconstruct the road to solve all their issues.

County commissioner Mohamed Barre who visited the scene said the area has underground water that causes the land to sink.

“We completed its reconstruction only four months ago and the works were hectic,” Barre said, noting that the project consumed Sh176 million, which has now gone to waste.

He said this is the fourth time the section has been reconstructed since 1978.

Barre said motorists will now use one lane that seems a bit stable before a diversion that was used while the section was reconstructed is murramed in less than two weeks.

The lane, however, also has cracks and is dangerous. Barre asked motorists to exercise caution.

“We have agreed with engineers that the diversion will be murramed and once it is done, motorists should no longer use the tarmac road,” he said.

“We hope that we will be able to make the road motorable but the idea of reconstruction has to be rethought. It requires another strategy.”

Numerous other areas in the county have developed cracks and transport has been disrupted along many roads but the Kanjama area is the worst hit, he said.

Barre cited a village in Murarandia, Kahuro subcounty, where farms have been sinking since December last year.

He said those affected have moved in with their relatives for accommodation as the government seeks a solution.

Parts of Gatanga and Mathioya have also experienced landslides.

“It is necessary that we conduct geological surveys in the county. This will help us to establish if the kind of investment the government is making on the road is worth it or we need an alternative solution,” he said.

In Mathioya, 25 households have been affected by the rain and similar numbers have been recorded across the eight subcounties of Murang'a, Barre said.

Edited by Henry Makori