Losses, pain of Nairobi city roads in sorry state

The poor state of roads especially in Nairobi’s satellite towns has led to losses for traders and the transport sector while leaving commuters frustrated.

On Monday morning, residents of Mwiki, Kasarani were forced to walk to Thika superhighway amid rain in search of vehicles to ferry them to their workplaces after matatus went on strike.

The public service vehicle operators were protesting the damaged Mwiki-Kasarani road worsened by ongoing heavy downpour.

The strike left commuters and schoolgoing children stranded, forcing them to seek alternatives farther off.

But even bus hailing service provider SWVL was not operating. The company notified its riders that it would not be plying on the route due to the disruption caused by the protests that saw bonfires lit on the road.

Protests over bad state of roads in the suburbs have been increasingly common in the past.

In December, residents of Fedha estate, an eastern Nairobi suburb protested over the state of Fedha-Nyayo road, saying its sorry state had led to rise in accidents, losses to business operators and insecurity.