Mombasa activists protest the delayed completion of the Nyali bridge-Mtwapa road

The road outside Sheikh Zayed Hall in Bombolulu on Tuesday /BRIAN OTIENO

The road outside Sheikh Zayed Hall in Bombolulu on Tuesday /BRIAN OTIENO

Mombasa activists, led by Muhuri director Khelef Khalifa, outside Sheikh Zayed Hall in Bombolulu on Tuesday /BRIAN OTIENO

Rights activists have protested the long time it has taken to construct eight kilometres of the new Malindi highway from Bombolulu to Mtwapa.

The Nyali bridge-Mtwapa stretch is 13.5km, which is part of the larger Mombasa-Mtwapa-Kilifi road project funded by the European Union, the African Development Bank and the Kenyan government.

“These road works started as early as 2017, where people were evicted from the Lights area to pave the way for the project, which did not start immediately,” Muhuri’s Khelef Khalifa, who led the activists, said.

Speaking in Bombolulu on Tuesday, the activists said the roadworks began during President Uhuru Kenyatta’s regime.

President William Ruto recently said he is keen to expand Kenya's road network by constructing another 10,000km of tarmac, mostly in rural areas.

“From Bombolulu here to Mtwapa is about eight kilometres. Construction started in January 2017. Today, it is the eighth year, and the road is not complete,” Khalifa said.

He said the Thika Superhighway, which is 50.4km, with eight lanes and some sections having 12 lanes, was built within five years.

Khalifa said the Nairobi Expressway, a very sophisticated road project stretching 27.1km, took less than three years.

“But here, only 8km, yet vehicles have to suffer and have shock absorbers changed every day. At the Mtwapa weighbridge, there is no road. There are bunkers. Others say those are graves. Yet the road is not being constructed,” he said.

Khalifa accused the coastal MPs of not being vocal enough to push for the completion of the road project.

The dualling of the Nyali Bridge-Mtwapa road is a major infrastructure project meant to improve connectivity between the North and the South coasts of Mombasa.

The actual dualling started in November 2022 and the projected completion date is around June 2026 for the main carriageway and September 2026 for walkways and service roads, according to government reports from late 2025.

“What are the governors, MPs, senators and MCAs doing? Why don’t they put pressure on the government to take responsibility and work faster like they do in upcountry?” Khalifa asked.

The first phase of the dualling project was supposed to end in Kilifi town but the project has only gone up to Swafia Centre, about 28km from Nyali Bridge.

“The rest of the road has just been expanded,” the Muhuri director said.

The second phase of the project is supposed to have the project move from Kilifi to Malindi.

She Rises executive director Salma Hemed said the road is used by people from as far as Lamu, Tana River and Kilifi counties to access the Coast General Teaching and Referral Hospital for medical attention.

“This road has been costing pregnant women being rushed to the CGTRH a lot of their time because it is usually congested during rush hours,” she said.

Hemed said at least five accidents occur on the road each week because of trying to manoeuvre through the road.

“The national government should treat each region equally. There should be no favouritism when it comes to development across the country,” she said.

She accused government officials of deliberately delaying the completion of the road to use it as a campaign tool in 2027.

Haki Africa rapid response officer Mathias Shipeta urged the government to fast-track the project.

“It has taken too long. This road is the one used to transfer patients from counties like Lamu, Tana River and Kilfi to the CGTRH,” he said.

It is also the one used to take people to the Kongowea market and the Central Business District for the day-to-day activities.

Shipeta said motorists use a lot of money to repair their vehicles, money which would have otherwise been used in other more important things.

“The respiratory diseases caused by the dust from the extended construction of this road is costly to both the economy and the individuals,” he said.

“For eight years, this road has been under construction. This means it takes one year to construct a kilometre of this road. Is that fair? I am sure if it was in any other part of the country apart from the Coast region, construction would have ended about three years ago.” 

Vokal Africa’s Walid Sketty said, according to the United Nations, development is clearly defined as project aimed at improving the economic inclusion of the people and social improvement of locals.

“However, this road is becoming an insult to the people of Mombasa. It has become an economic burden to the people of Mombasa.

“There is no project in Kenya that is indefinitely undertaken,” Sketty said.

He urged Transport PS Mohamed Daghar, a Mombasa resident, to act fast and put pressure on the government to complete the project.

“You are letting us down. Unless you are held politically captive, you need to tell us why you are not talking about this project’s delay,” Sketty said.