A major protest along Kitui Road in Machakos County on Monday, January 20, crippled traffic as residents lit bonfires in the middle of the busy road at Kaani area.
According to reports from correspondents in Machakos, the residents were up in arms over the poor state of the roads.
Machakos County Governor Alfred Mutua and the Kenya National Highway Authority (KeNHA) were called upon by the protestors to act swiftly by the residents to avoid further protests.
"There's a huge traffic snarl-up along Kitui Road, Machakos, heading to Masii, the residents have completely blocked it off," a motorist stated.
One of the protestors claimed that a company known as Nyoro Construction was responsible for recarpeting that section of the road, a project that had since stalled leading to the protests.
Failure by road construction contractors to carry out their mandate has been a thorn on the flesh of the government over several years now.
On December 21, 2019, Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia blacklisted 15 road construction firms.
“The 15 road construction companies will never work in this country as long as we are in office. They have delivered shoddy jobs while others have run away after receiving the 10 percent down payment,” CS Macharia stated.
The government’s move followed a new policy by the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) to list non-performing firms contracted to work on different projects.
The Transport ministry has for a long time been grappling with cases where contractors fail to meet deadlines and deliver work that is substandard.
Here are a few more photos from the protests:
