Gatundu residents hold demo to protest against poor state of road

A section of residents held demos on Friday, blocking the section of the road near Mwea police station with bananas and branches.

They went ahead to light fires and barricade the road with rocks, paralysing traffic.

"We are urging the local leadership to push for the road to be fixed or we will continue to conduct mass protests," one protester said.

The major road linking Kiambu, Nyandarua and Murang’a Counties through Thika town, Mang’u, Kamwangi, Kanyoni, Kanjuku, Gakoe, Kirasha and Magumu has been at the center of protests from furious road users who have accused the contractor of digging terraces on both sides of the road resulting in numerous accidents, traffic snarl-ups and damage to vehicles.

Construction works which include re-tarmacking and expansion of the width of the carriageway began in August 2020 and were set for completion in December 2021.

Redoing the ring road had been envisioned to decongest the Nairobi metropolitan area by linking the busy Thika road to the Nairobi-Nakuru highway.

Four years since the construction began, numerous potholes, clouds of dust, and dangerous terraces continue to be hallmarks of the road.

Commuters have been forced to pay higher fares for the few matatus that still ply that route.

Users of the run-down road decried major movement hurdles that delay the transportation of their farm produce such as tea, avocados, coffee, milk and pineapples.

Motorists on the other end regretted the massive breaking down of their vehicles which they are now forced to pay to maintain regularly.