•The project has opened up Wanjerere, Tuthu, Ichichi, Kinyona, Kiamuturi and Gakarara areas that have now been opened up to eco-tourism that will better lives.
•Investors in the hospitality sector have lauded the move by the government to tarmac the road saying it will open up the upper parts of the county that have high tourism potential.
Image: ALICE WAITHERA
The 540km Mau Mau road will increase tourism that will boost the economy of Murang’a.
The Sh30 billion project started in 2019 begins in Limuru, Kiambu, and traverses Nyandarua and Murang’a ends at Ihururu in Nyeri.
In Murang’a, the road is being constructed by Kenya National Highways Authority and will cover 153km.
Last month, Kenha’s chairperson Wangai Ndirangu said 50km of the road would be complete by the end of the year.
The road that passes through hilly and scenic areas bordering the Aberdare forest has opened up places that have never been tarmacked before.
The project has opened up the Wanjerere, Tuthu, Ichichi, Kinyona, Kiamuturi and Gakarara areas that have now been opened up to eco-tourism that will better lives.
Before being upgraded, the routes were footpaths that were being maintained by tea factories to ease the collection of tea leaves by the trucks.
Investors in the hospitality sector have lauded the move by the government to tarmac the road saying it will open up the upper parts of the county that have high tourism potential.
Zack Gichane, the proprietor of Aberdare Cottages located at the foot of the Aberdare forest in Mathioya, said the road will awaken the economy of the tea zones that are endowed with a scenic environment.
Gichane said numerous tourist attraction sites are near the forest but have not been accessible due to the poor roads.
“In tourism and the hospitality industry, this county is a sleeping giant that requires a trigger such as this road to rejuvenate it,” he said.
Gichane however appealed to more investors to set up facilities that will cater to the increased number of people as they travel along the road or visit the sites.
“If we don’t take advantage of this opportunity, this road will become a conveyor belt for people to other counties,” he said.
He urged the county to open commercial gates into the Aberdare forest that are manned by Kenya Wildlife Services to give local and foreign tourists, a chance to explore the park.
This, he said, will help the county to upscale tourism, because it is the only one out of the five counties bordering the Aberdares that has not exploited its tourism potential.
Image: ALICE WAITHERA
Ndirangu said despite tarmacking the road, Kenha plans to establish museums in the four counties to conserve their cultural heritage.
“We are discussing with the counties and the National Museums of Kenya on how to document the history that led up to the independence so that it remains edged in our hearts,” he said.
Kenha’s director general Kung’u Ndung’u said one of the historical sites that will be exposed by the road was where freedom fighter Dedan Kimathi was captured by colonialists.
Culture and gender executive Edward Muiruri said the county has identified land together with the National Museums and councils of elders where the museum will be established at Mariira in Kigumo.
The county, he said, is in the process of setting aside 10 acres of land and the project will cost Sh250 million.
“This project will boost local tourism because it is not just about the Mau Mau fighters but also conservation of cultural heritage,” he said.
“The first Mau Mau general Matenjaguo was killed at the site which hosted a Mau Mau prison.”
The museum will be named after general Matenjaguo and its construction will start in January.
Image: ALICE WAITHERA
Murang’a county museums curator Anthony Maina said the road project will expose many tourism opportunities along the route.
Maina said locals started activism against white settlers long before other areas.
He cited an airstrip in Wanjerere, Kangema, used by the colonialists to refuel their air-crafts before flying over the Aberdare forest to kill Mau Mau fighters.
In Tutho which is at the foot of the Aberdares, many residents were killed and taken to concentration camps for feeding and caring for the fighters in the forest.
The area hosts the grave of the first senior chief Karuri wa Gakure who helped the settlers appoint other chiefs in the region.
The chief was a staunch trader who travelled to Machakos to sell his wares and was accompanied by residents, some of who settled in Nairobi and went on to monopolise trade in the city.
A few metres from his grave is the first Catholic church established in the country by the Consolata missionaries in the early 1900s.
In Weithaga, Kahuro subcounty, the first Anglican church was established by the settlers in 1903 and the neighbouring Koimbi area, ruled the only woman colonial chief, Wangu wa Makeri.
“This project presents an opportunity for the county to diversify from farming and make money from its cultural heritage,” he said.
Edited by Kiilu Damaris