- The development of roadside stations along the transport corridors is part of enhancing road safety
- Transport CS Kipchumba Murkomen in an affidavit to the High Court says the move is in compliance with a court order issued in 2020
The government is seeking partnerships with private sector players to put up toilets and other sanitation facilities along major highways.
Transport CS Kipchumba Murkomen in an affidavit to the High Court says the move is in compliance with a court order issued in 2020.
The order requires the government to formulate a policy for the provision of the facilities along the roads.
Murkomen said his ministry has developed draft regulations termed “The Kenya Roads Regulations 2023” and scheduled public participation forum for members of the public .
The forums began on Tuesday, September 19 and will run until September 27.
The Ministry has further invited lawyer Adrian Kamotho to submit his comments and views on the proposed regulations. Kamotho was the petitioner in the case that sued the state for the provision of the toilet facilities.
He had lodged the matter against the Ministry and other state actors.
“From the above foregoing, the ministry of roads has discharged its mandate and seeks that the matter be laid to rest and be brought to a close,” Transport PS Joseph Mbugua who represented Murkomen told the court.
The file was subsequently closed after Kamotho and the state made the court aware of the ongoing plans.
The matter was before Justice Oguttu Mboya of the high court's land division in Nairobi.
The development of roadside stations along the transport corridors is part of improving highways, enhancing road safety and wellness of travellers and drivers.
Murkomen has since prepared a policy in compliance with the court order under the integrated master policy covering all the transport sectors known as ‘updated integrated national transport policy’.
From the policy, the government says it will partner with private investors for the development of RSS along major highways in the country to contribute towards making the highways smart transport.
When the matter was filed in court by Kamotho in 2017, Justice Kossy Bor after hearing the case delivered her judgement in 2020 ordering the state to provide the toilets.
She said the Cabinet Secretary in charge of Transport shall constitute and chair the working group to formulate the policy for the provision of toilets and other sanitation facilities.
“The national transport policy should incorporate toilets and other sanitation facilities as part of the roadside developments in the road designs for existing and new roads and also designate a sufficient number of such facilities on road stops on the national and international trunk roads,” said the Judge in 2020.
The policy she added should take into account the need to have the toilets and other sanitation facilities maintained properly by the county governments once constructed.