Have you visited Kisumu? For most visitors, it suits it pseudo name, Europe. This is attributed to its road networks within the CBD, clean city and the likes. However, on the flip side, this is just an outward shell to residents, encapsulating a rotting culture of trading blames and responsibilities over the growing poor state of road networks at the expense of dwellers.

Over the years, the state of roads continue to worsen and with the rains, they become impassable due to extensive mud, countless of gaping potholes, clogged waters which at time, carry with itself, live sewage especially within the CBD.

Devoid of rains, the roads grow worse with countless of potholes, thick rising and settling cloud of dust with every passing of a vehicle especially, the heavy trucks. In some sections, one may be treated to the illusion that everything including vegetation is painted brown, only to realise it is the constant settling of dust.

This state is replicated in almost all roads and feeder roads from eight subcounties in Kisumu County. Muhoroni, Kisumu West, Kisumu East and Nyakach subcounties leading with the number of public unrests over the poor state of roads, with some even blamed for the loss of lives due to delays caused by inaccessible and impassable roads between homes and health facilities, pregnant women mostly affected.

Central Kolwa Ward in Kisumu East Sub-County was the latest to take to the streets after residents of Usoma village raised complains over the worsening state of Nkruma Road in Central Kisumu Ward, halting operations at Coca-Cola and KenGen companies until the road is permanently repaired.

Trading blames

In the case of Nkruma Road, the county government pointed fingers at the national government saying the stretch was under Kenya Urban Roads Authority (KURA). However, KURA also blamed the county government for delaying the handing over process.

“The Nkruma road was just recently handed over to us after a delayed classification and handing over process,” Engineer Richard Donde from KURA said, “According to budget estimates, the road will cost KSh888 million but the tendering process is yet to take place.”

The scenario was however different in Central Kolwa Ward in Kisumu East where residents took to the streets in a unique picketing strategy that mobilised the youth, women, the bodaboda and motorists, each with a working tool, to repair the said roads.

From one point to another, they moved in groups consisting of about four hundred people armed with spades, slashers, jembes and without any protective materials such as helmets, gloves, etc and jointly worked with psych to unclog stagnated waters, refilled and levelled potholes, dug trenches along the road to control flow of water. For the better part of the day, they laboured in protest with a clear message to their leaders-their rights to better roads.

“We have suffered over the years with constant complains over the state of road networks in Kolwa Central Ward but our pleas have fallen on deaf ears,” an angry resident said, “this is why we have decided to literally take matters in our own hands and repair the roads by ourselves in protest.”

“Elgons-Tido road, Tido-Mbeme road, the stretch all the way from Tido to Nairobi Ndogo are all impassable during the rainy season and becomes wildly dusty during the dry season and despite constant visits to the MCA’s and MP’s office, no action has been taken,” added another angry resident.

The protests were organised by Peter Ochieng, the chairperson of the Kolwa Boltminded CBO that brings together all the bodaboda operators in Kolwa.

“This was a positive response from members of my CBO and residents of Central Kolwa Ward who even went deep into their pockets to provide basic materials we needed to repair the roads. However, this is also a warning to the leaders we elected into office, the MCA Kelvin Oraro and the MP Shakeel Shabir,” he stated.

In his defense, the area MCA, who spoke to TV 47 digital through a text message, blamed the County Government of Kisumu for slow implementation of development projects at the Ward level, saying that he had reached out to Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KERRA) and was promised that the roads will be done in the next financial year.

The area MP Shakeel Shabir, through a phone call to TV47 digital, distanced himself from the responsibility claiming that despite the fact that the said roads are not under his responsibility, the county government is notorious for always dragging development project in Kisumu East because he is an independent candidate while the county is being run by an ODM government.

The unending blames from duty bearers have since exposed the public to constant suffering with the growing bad state of the roads deeply presenting in different forms including the high cost of maintenence for motorists, influx of insecurity cases and delayed medical response services putting lives at risks among many other health and environmental factors.