• They want the court to suspend the implementation and construction until the state conducts public participation.
Image: COURTESY
Two Activists have moved to court challenging the multibillion-shilling JKIA-Westlands Expressway project launched by President Uhuru Kenyatta last year.
The project is estimated to cost about Sh62 billion.
Henry Shitanda and Rhoda Aoko argue that there was no public participation and the project is being done in secrecy.
In the petition filed at Milimani law courts, the two sued the Kenya National Highways Authority and Attorney General Kihara Kariuiki.
They want the court to suspend the implementation and construction until the state conducts public participation.
They claim that on October 16 last year, to their shock and that of other Kenyans, the President and Kenha presided over the launch yet the design, negotiations, structure and planning were done in secrecy.
“No such notices and dissemination of information relating to the said project were ever made to members of the public or the applicants,” they argued.
It is their argument that the project as it stands is founded on an illegality and contravenes the fundamental principles and national values of the constitution of Kenya of transparency, openness, involvement of the people and public participation.
Motorists are expected to pay between Sh111 and Sh555 to use the JKIA-Westlands Expressway and the Chinese contractor will pocket Sh108.5 billion profit in the long run.
China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) is projected to make Sh186.2 billion in revenues for the 27 years it will operate the road, between 2023 and 2049, before handing over the project to the government.
This is against a total construction, operation and maintenance cost of $748.9 million (about Sh77.7 billion). Construction cost will total $509.2 million (Sh52.8 billion) while operating expenses including maintenance are pegged at $239.7 million (Sh24.8 billion).