The Kenya National Highway Authority (Kenha) and the cabinet secretary responsible for Transport and Infrastructure, James macharia are required to facilitate the removal of the obstacles at the Survey of Kenya and Homelands/ Kenya Breweries junctions at Ruaraka.
Justice George Odunga said the city authorities should enforce rules making it mandatory for pedestrians to use the footbridges that have been provided along the route for their own safety. He lamented that the facilities have fallen into misuse and been taken over by robbers and marauding gangs.
“Those tasked with the management of roads in this country are obliged to ensure that there are proper road signage to inform road users about the state of roads to enable them make informed decisions within good time.” Justice Odunga pointed out.
“There is no rationale for erecting rubble strips and bumps when the authorities concerned have erected footbridges for the benefit of pedestrians. It is the responsibilities of the Executive to ensure that through-fares and footbridges are used and are secure,” he said.
The Judge directed the Nairobi County Government to appoint the City management Board and the Nairobi City Manager to executive the functions specified under the Urban Areas and Cities Act. He said City fathers had failed to undertake their obligations to constitute the board to handle dilapidated infrastructure and improve road networks.
The Judge said there as no evidence that the Sh500million budget incurred under the city’s de-congestion programme was not approved or unreasonable. “There was no public participation before the decision was made to de-congest the city. However, to reverse the effects of what has been undertaken will cause more harm to the public than failure to comply with the law,” he said.
Nairobi senator Mike Mbuvi Sonko through lawyer Harrison Kinyanjui had filed the petition after the County Government closed down roundabouts for major public works and argued that the implementation was hurriedly conducted. He had protested failure to provide alternative routes or diversions for motorists and pedestrians.
Justicxe Odunga commended Sonko for his public-spirited litigation and said the public deserved to be notified in good time whenever inconveniences arise. All necessary steps should be takn to ensure that the rights of the citizenry were not violated, he said.
In an application certified as urgent , Sonko said the restructuring of roads leading to the city centre that has affected Mombasa Road, Uhuru Highway, Bunyala Road and and Langata Road, among others, “is unlawful and has instead caused a traffic nightmare for motorists using the affected roads, occasioning economic loses and posing grave danger to road users.”
The senator told the court that the county government did not involve the public before coming up with the decision to cancel “right turns on these major arteries without notification of road users and failed to provide alternative routes serving as lawfully established diversions”.
Sonko accused the Nairobi county government and the transport Cabinet secretary of failing to provide alternative routes of diversion and is seeking a prohibitory orders to halt further restructuring on the affected roads particularly in “the absence of fully approved engineering plans of the proposed changes.”
In the petition, the senator also sought the immediate removal of road barriers erected at the roundabouts of University Way, Kenyatta Avenue, Haile Selassie Avenue, Bunyala Road, Nyayo Stadium and Westlands.
