Rains, impassable roads and the promise of Imarisha Barabara program

On August 20, Mtaa Wangu highlighted the story of the unfortunate passing of Geoffrey Maritim, a 45-year-old from Chepkosa village in Mauche, Njoro Sub-County.

The gentleman did not die because he lacked the ability to pay for medical attention, but because of the poor road conditions in his area.

When we spoke to Ms Florence Maritim, the wife of the deceased, she narrated to us that her husband had battled with issues of high blood pressure and diabetes.

On the night of August 16, his condition deteriorated and he was in need of medical assistance; however, due to the poor condition of the roads coming into their village, no vehicle would have been able to access their home because the heavy rains had turned the roads muddy, making them inaccessible.

The issue of poor roads has been a thorn in the flesh of many Nakuru residents; crossing over to Barnabas, the situation is the same. We visited the area on August 23 and caught a first-hand experience of what the residents were complaining about.

Roads had been turned into small pools, so much that ducks had begun swimming; in another section, the road right in front of a hospital was rendered impassable due to the large pool of water that had collected at the gate of the Muguga Dispensary, and according with the entire stretch of about a kilometer being inaccessible following heavy rains.

As we came into 2025, whenever we sought responses from leaders on what exactly is going on, there would be a blame game between those in the different levels of government going around, and no one was really looking to give clear solutions on the menace at hand.

However, this year saw a landmark court ruling on June 5, declaring the exclusion of Counties from the Road Maintenance Levy Fund (RMLF) unconstitutional. The court had ordered Sh 10 billion to be released to county governments for road maintenance.

For the most part, this now put the responsibility of matters relating to roads on the County Government.

On September 16, Governor Susan Kihika decided to address the elephant in the room while at a function in Njoro.

“In the Department of Infrastructure, I know we have challenges. Whenever I stumble a bit, I usually acknowledge it, and in the roads sector, it’s because of the rain. But this rain is almost ending now, and once it stops, you will see me and the MCAs moving to make the roads,” she said, echoing a familiar explanation her administration had given in recent months.

As this year drew to a close, on December 11, a memorandum of understanding between the County Government and the National Youth Service where the county contracted the NYS to oversee the maintenance work of all roads under the Imarisha Barabara Programme.

However, the High Court issued conservatory orders suspending the Sh. 2.1 billion deal. The matter is still in court, pending hearing and determination.

As the year draws to a close, no clear tangible solution has been given as to the menace that ails many of the Nakuru residents the most.

During a phone call interview with Ken Mungai the Chief Officer Infrastructure, he said that going into next year they are looking to do 800km of earth roads by June in different parts of the county.

“Our main challenge this year has been the rains but at the moment they have subsided and we are looking to embark on not just the roads but also look into urban improvement and while also doing cabros installation in other areas, while also looking to improve the road network in the city centre especially places with potholes,” he notes.

He also says that he is aware of court's decision will not really affect them going forward.

“We had already gotten the machines, and some had already been paid for, so they will continue with the works. Also, we had two MOUs, one with NYS and another with the Ministry of Roads. The one with the ministry of roads had not been stopped and we look to continue with this one as planned,” he says.

He concludes by saying going into next year they look to achieve their set targets with matters pertaining to infrastructure within the county.