Nakuru fissure crisis: What it means for the Rironi–Mau Summit Highway Project

Over the past few years, Nakuru County has become a hotbed of geological instability, with fissures opening up in various areas: Rongai, Gilgil and Nakuru West.

These 'holes' and cracks, some of which are wide enough to swallow portions of roads, have disrupted transportation and raised serious concerns about public safety. Yet time and again, the authorities have responded with cosmetic repairs that barely last a season: they dump some soil or rocks and move on.

The most recent collapse at the Eveready Roundabout was not the first.

In fact, the same spot caved in again in 2024. A petrol station in the London area sank in both 2021 and 2024. Each time, staff were dispatched to fill the gaps with soil, sometimes reinforced with stones, a temporary fix that barely lasted a season.

Mtaa Wangu sought to understand why long-term solutions remain elusive, particularly given that the upcoming Rironi–Mau Summit highway is expected to pass through these high-risk zones.

The CECM for Infrastructure, Eng Michael Kamau, acknowledged the limitations of current interventions.

“The fissures are a natural occurrence. They’re extremely deep, and you can’t just excavate to the bottom and fill them in permanently. You’d be pouring resources into something with no end,” he explained.

Mr Kamau likened it to building on muddy ground, except in this case there is no firm ground beneath.

"You don’t know how soon it might relapse, which is why the county opts for cheaper, superficial fixes with the expectation that they will hold," he says.

The situation is further complicated by the length and spread of the fissure line, which runs from Olive Inn to Kaptembwo, making it nearly impossible to install extensive infrastructure such as culverts.

“You can’t install culverts the entire way. However, where they cross critical infrastructure such as roads, we can reduce erosion by backfilling or installing sleeves or culverts to safely channel water,” says Mr Kamau, adding that he believes this is what Kenha mentioned they would use following the recent setback at the Eveready Roundabout.

Although he thinks that the national engineers working on the Rironi–Mau Summit Highway will address the issue more robustly, Mr Kamau admits that no permanent solution has yet been proposed.

"I haven’t heard of any other viable long-term approaches at the meetings I’ve attended. But maybe Kenha has something in the pipeline," he says.

However, attempts to reach Kenha for comment were unsuccessful at the time of publication.

What’s clear is that the fissure problem in Nakuru is a natural and complex challenge that doesn’t lend itself to simple fixes. Yet the repeated use of temporary solutions raises questions about planning, preparedness and prioritisation.

As the highway construction advances, engineers and the government are being tested on whether they can finally replace the cycle of Band-Aid solutions with long-term, collaborative thinking.

Until then, Nakuru residents must navigate around geological wounds that could reopen at any moment, both literally and metaphorically.