- The contractor blocked the road on Tuesday to allow for construction works and established two diversion routes
- Motorists however declined to use the two routes claiming they were unusable and demanded to be allowed to use one lane of the road
Transport operations were disrupted for several hours Wednesday morning in Mahua-ini after motorists blocked the Murang'a-Kiria-ini road to protest a contractor's diversions.
The contractor blocked the road to allow for the grading of a section from Mahua-ini area to Mugeka. The motorists declined to use diversions, saying they are in a poor state.
They wanted the contractor to construct one lane while allowing them to use the other. Engineers said it would disrupt construction works.
The motorists who were joined by boda boda operators said with the onset of the rains, transport operations along the road could become a nightmare and that their vehicles could get stuck in the bushes along the diversion routes.
In a stand-off that lasted for over five hours, the contractor tried in vain to convince the motorists to use the diversions. Anti-riot police officers quelled tension as the two sides disagreed.
The contractor is constructing the road from Murang'a town to Mugeka while another contractor is working on another section from Mugeka to Kairo in Mathioya.
Construction of the road started in 2019 and has sparked several protests from residents who previously complained over the slow rate of completion.
Lazarus Ngatia Mwangi said it took him many hours to get home on Wednesday night following a snarl-up caused by the diversions.
"I got home at midnight and my wife could not understand why I spent that long on a road that normally takes just a few minutes," he said.
The matatu driver said transport services along the road have become expensive and wanted solutions to the problem provided.
Livingstone Nyagala, another driver working with an animal feeds company said the diversion is too hilly and that some vehicles, especially heavily loaded trucks, are unable to use them.
Nyagala said he had been caught up in the stand-off from 7am despite being on a schedule to deliver animal feeds to farmers.
Another motorist, Bishop Godffrey Migwi, asked the contractor to ensure a safe passage is provided.
"We have seen other construction works being carried out and motorists are allowed to use one side of the road," he said.
But Thomas Njogu, the project's inspector said they had already completed 9.7 kilometres of road and that only three kilometres are incomplete.
He said the road was blocked to allow for grading works that involved mixing murram with cement.
"At this level of construction, we are not allowed by law to allow motorists because it can interfere with the quality of the road," he said.
After motorists declined to use the diversions, the contractor eventually gave in and allowed them to pass through.
Njogu said the remaining section is expected to be complete in a month's time.
-Edited by Sarah Kanyara