An upcoming interchange at Marua marking the end of the Kenol-Sagana-Marua dual carriageway on August 29, 2024.The 84-kilometre highway is expected to boost connectivity and drive economic growth by attracting investments in agriculture, manufacturing, and tourism in the central region. Local leaders are pushing for the highway's extension to Nyeri town to further stimulate growth.
Construction works on the Kenol-Sagana-Marua dual carriageway, which was started in 2019, have stalled for nearly three years on the Nyeri County section due to delayed compensation of affected landowners.
Works on the Sh16 billion project, which is jointly financed by the African Development Bank and the Government of Kenya, started on July 30, 2020, and was expected to be completed by October 18, 2023.
The project, which traverses five counties, starts at the Kenol junction in Murang’a through, Machakos, Embu, Kirinyaga, and Nyeri, cutting through Karatina town before terminating at Marua junction.
The construction is being undertaken in two lots, the 36-kilometre Kenol- Sagana section and the 13km Sagana to Marua part.
While construction of the Kenol-Sagana lot is complete, the 13-kilometre stretch between Kangocho on the Nyeri-Kirinyaga border and Marua has stalled.
The completion of the 13km stretch has been delayed by non-payment of Sh2.9 billion to landowners, who are supposed to cede their land to pave the way for the expansion of the road.
Three years ago, at least 1,350 landowners from Nyeri County were issued with notices to vacate their parcels, forcing some of them to demolish some storey buildings as others closed their business premises awaiting compensation.
But they are still waiting for their money and those who had complied with the notice have refused to vacate, citing delayed compensation.
The most affected landowners are mainly from Karatina town between Kangocho and Marua who now fear they may never receive payouts because of "endless” promises by the relevant government agencies.
Residents have held numerous demonstrations to protest the delay, but they have yet to bear fruit.
Local politicians have also been pressuring the government on the issue. On September 15, 2024, former Laikipia Woman Representative, Cate Waruguru, who hails from the area, cited the highway as one project that had been “abandoned” by the Kenya Kwanza administration “for political reasons”.
Ms Waruguru is a political ally of Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, who in an interview with Inooro TV on September 12, 2023, said the government was working towards clearing the Sh2.9 billion being demanded by landowners.
He said the government had factored Sh1.5 billion for the compensation in the budget, and those owed below Sh1 million would receive the money before the end of the year.
Several structures, including high-rise buildings belonging to prominent businesswoman, Ms Lucy Weru, in Karatina town, which house two supermarkets, are earmarked for demolition.
She had already started demolishing one of them, but the process has stopped citing non-compensation.
Mr Michael Muriithi, a resident who is among hundreds of others still waiting for compensation, said his family had been waiting for the government to keep its promise for the last three years, and that their efforts to follow up on the matter had not been successful.
He said the residents had numerous meetings with the county government administration officers where a list of all the affected families was read and were assured that they would receive their compensation.
“I have valuation documents indicating that the government owed my family Sh3 million, but the payments are not forthcoming and we are still waiting,” he said, adding that the delay has affected the succession process and has been a cause of conflicts in families.
Mr Michael Guy Mwangi is another business person, who was forced to relocate his hotel business, which was located on the highway in Karatina, after being served with a vacate notice by the government.
“As members of the business community, we have incurred heavy losses since our businesses were disrupted by the notice. We thought we would be compensated immediately but it has turned out to be a long wait,” he said.
The contractor, China Wuyi, has on several occasions cited challenges in accessing a 13km section of the road in Kangocho, Karatina, and Marua due to a delayed land acquisition process, which falls under the National Land Commission (NLC).
Engineer Sayed Antiqulla, an official of China Wu Yi when he appeared before the Nyeri County Implementation Coordination and Management Committee, said only 327 out of 1,351 persons had received compensation.
While addressing journalists in Nairobi three months ago, Mr Richard Malinga, African Development Bank's Transport Engineer and Desk Manager of the project, said the Kenol—Sagana—Marua Highway Project would be completed in December this year, adding that the decision was arrived at after an inspection was carried out.
“The work started in October 2020 and has advanced, so essentially, by the end of this year, it will be completed,” he said. However, the completion timeline seems to be in doubt since landowners are yet to be compensated.
A report by KeNHA seen by Nation that was presented to the Nyeri County Implementation Coordination and Management Committee three weeks ago shows only 453 of the landowners from Nyeri County have been compensated to date, leaving 897 pending claims.
“Delayed payment of money for acquisition of affected land and property on some sections of the road has resulted in contractors suspending works on this specific road. The unavailable section in total is 7.598km out of 36km,” reads part of a report.
The report says the delay in paying claimants had already been escalated to the National Treasury, but they were yet to receive a response as to when money would be available.
A source at the Central regional KeNHA headquarters, who is not authorised to address the media, said such monies are wired to the authority that in turn credits the funds to the National Land Commission, which is the paying agent.
The African Development Bank (AfDB), the key financier of the project, in its latest implementation progress report, has warned that a persistent delay in compensating stakeholders exposes the project to serious risks of time and cost overruns.
It warns that delays to disburse payments to affected individuals and contractors could cause the Sh16 billion project to overstretch its planned schedule and budget.
“The delays in land acquisition for the right of way have impacted the implementation of works in certain sections. This is also potentially impacting the cost of the works,” AfDB says.
When contacted for a comment on Thursday, September 12, 2024, the Central regional commissioner, Pius Murugu, who is tasked to oversee the implementation of all national government projects, said the process of paying land owners is at its final stage and the payouts would be done “soon”.
He said the administration and the National Land Commission are in the process of finding a solution.
“We have been holding consultative meetings on the issue. We are aware that some residents have yet to receive any payment. Last week I met with representatives of the affected landowners where they presented their grievances and the process is at an advanced stage,” Mr Murugu told Nation.Africa.
Once complete, the dual carriageway is expected to, among others, reduce travel time, improve road safety, reduce vehicle operating costs, boost economic growth, and foster regional integration by improving connectivity between Kenya, Ethiopia, and the Horn of Africa.
It is part of the Kenya section of the Trans-Africa highway that starts from Cape Town to Cairo, enters Kenya through Namanga, and forms part of the 800km stretch between Nairobi and Moyale.
