Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero yesterday renamed three roads after three Kenyan heroes.
He praised the three for major contributions that have made Kenya a better nation.
Forest Road was renamed Prof Wangari Maathai Road in recognition of the Nobel laureate’s campaigns to preserve the environment and resist land theft.
“It’s good to recognise her work. Without Maathai, Nairobi could not be existing. Landgrabbers could have taken Uhuru Park and Karura Forest,” the governor said.
Cross Road in the CBD is now Charles Rubia Road, named after multipartism crusader Charles Rubia.
He was also Nairobi’s first black mayor.
The road between City Hall Annex and Cardinal Otunga Plaza to Uhuru Highway has been renamed Cardinal Otunga Road.
Kidero announced the renaming plan during the October 20 Mashujaa Day celebrations.
He also commissioned construction of Sh6.5 billion roads. This involves expansion of the 800-metre stretch on Accra Road. The stretch connects the Central Business District to Park Road.
The project also covers the eight-kilometre road that runs from Ngara, through Gikomba Market, to Landhies Road.
Kidero said the World Bank-funded project was delayed by encroachment on road reserves by small-scale traders, jua kali artisans and mechanics. The road will be completed in a year.
“I appeal to you, if the contractor arrives where you are, just give them way to do their work,” he told the small-scale traders.
Kidero said the roads are being done as part of the wider construction of the Eastern missing link.
So the signs have changed.
All maps and charts will have to be changed.
Will drivers get the message?
The late Maathai was a renowned environmental advocate. She won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004. Kidero said her unrelenting spirit kept would-be landgrabbers at bay, thereby saving forests. In August, President Uhuru Kenyatta laid the foundation stone for an ultramodern centre at the University of Nairobi to house the Wangari Maathai Institute for Peace and Environmental Studies. The institute at the Lower Kabete Campus will be a global centre of excellence in environmental governance with linkages to peace and democracy.