Rain of pain: Lorries ferrying farm produce in Kajiado get stuck in mud

Two days of heavy downpour has left the Kajiado-Taveta Road impassable.

Several lorries ferrying fresh farm produce and others transporting relief food got stuck in the mud on the 67km stretch.

In the last couple of months, the Oloitokitok-Njukini-Taveta Road was dusty and deplorable causing a public uproar.

Now with the onset of the short rains, the residents are poised to suffer as the road has become muddy and impassable. 

"We were praying for rain but it is causing harm now. Trucks can no not ferry farm produce to the market," said Kennedy Parmeres adding that matatus plying the route operate only three days in a week leaving people with no means of transport. 

Since Monday, four trucks have overturned on the muddy road damaging food items such as tomatoes.

Other lorries ferrying relief food to far-flung areas can not access the villages.

In the same area, herders have recorded mass death of malnourished and weak livestock that can not withstand the heavy downpour.

"More livestock have died in the last two days," said Geoffrey Metian, who hails from Rombo.

The road connecting Kajiado and Taveta counties has been in a deplorable condition causing untold suffering for the last 20 years.

In May 2019, the Kenya National Highway Authority (Kenha) announced that they had identified a contractor to tarmac the road at a cost of Sh5.4 billion under the Annuity Road Project Programmme (ARPP).

The annuity programme was part of former President Uhuru Kenyatta administration's approach to upgrade 10,000km of roads through private-public partnership countywide.

In October 2019, the contractor promised to commence the road works by November 2019.

However, around December 2019, the contractor left the site tight-lipped much to the chagrin of locals.