Five Kenyans appeared before a Mombasa Law Court on Monday August 4 and pleaded guilty to encroachment following a case filed by the Kenya National Highway Authority (KeNHA).
In an update issued on Tuesday, KeNHA revealed that the five had ignored several notices to vacate a road reserve along the Mombasa–Nairobi highway issued on April 4.
The authority also warned others planning to do the same that they would be in violation of Section 49(1)(a) read with Section 49(6) of the Kenya Roads Act No. 2 of 2007.
"The accused failed to comply with vacation notices from the road reserve issued on April 4, 2025, by ALEHU Coast Region officers along the Mombasa – Nairobi Highway (A8) Road," KeNHA stated.
"Their actions violated Section 49(1) (a), as read with Section 49(6), of the Kenya Roads Act, No. 2 of 2007. The Authority emphasises the importance of strictly complying with land-use regulations in a bid to protect public infrastructure and prevent future encroachments."
KeNHA also shared images of some of the roadside structures that had led to the court case.
This comes weeks after the ambitious 419km Nairobi-Mombasa Expressway Project faced a major setback after the Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) Committee recommended its development proposal to be abandoned until it meets the standard criteria.
Dubbed Usahihi Express, the expressway was slated to cost Ksh468 billion and would have been a four-lane highway connecting Nairobi to Mombasa.
