Lumumba Drive residents in Nairobi hold demos over bad roads

Residents of Lumumba Drive in Roysambu Constituency in Nairobi hold protests over poor state of roads in area

Residents of Lumumba Drive in Nairobi's Roysambu area on Friday took to the streets to protest over poor condition of roads in the populous residential estate.

The residents called for the intervention of area MP Kamande Mwafrika as they demanded immediate action from the Nairobi City County Government..

They lamented that the rains currently pounding the city have worsened the already deplorable roads.

“Potholes and flooding have made roads nearly impassable, disrupting daily activities and businesses,” an agitated resident remarked.

“Haki Yetu” rent the air as the residents marched along the roads before police dispersed them.

“The roads in the whole Roysambu constituency are in bad shape. The drainages are poor drainage yet it looks like the rainy season is here,” a resident lamented.

A local leader who attempted to explain away the issue was heckled and shouted down by the angry residents.

“Just repair the roads, we don't want to hear stories,” a resident said.

The protests come barely a day after Deputy President Kithure Kindiki stated that the government was keen to complete all stalled road projects across the country.

Speaking on Thursday when he made a stopover at Mucatha village in Chuka Igamba Ng'ombe constituency, Tharaka Nithi county, Kindiki said this will be done before any new road projects are started.

“The government now has resources for reviving road infrastructure projects which stalled in many parts of the country between 2018 and 2019, before building new roads,” he said.

The DP noted that roads play a critical role in supporting communities in transportation to access critical services and amenities.

“Road infrastructure play an important role in supporting communities to transport produce to the market, access social amenities and generally improve their social economic well-being,“ he said.

The Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KeRRA) is responsible for the management, development, rehabilitation, and maintenance of constituency roads, with Constituency Roads Committees advising KeRRA on annual road programmes.