Those who participated in the destruction of parts of the Nairobi Expressway during Wednesday demonstrations will be held liable for the losses, Transport, Roads and Public Works Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has said.
While touring the Ksh 15 billion infrastructure to assess the damages which include vandalism of toll booths, CCTV cameras, meters and barriers and other road furniture, Murkomen said while the exchequer will bear the cost of repair, the government will comb through the CCTV to arrest and prosecute those involved who will also be required to pay for the damages.
As of today, at least 50 people directly or indirectly involved in vandalizing the road had been arrested waiting to be arraigned in court.
“Those of you who organized this protest directly or indirectly, please prepare your accounts, prepare your properties, land and whatever you own. We are going to make sure you pay for all the damage that you caused on this infrastructure,” Murkomen warned.
Murkomen accused the opposition for the damages saying the vandalism witnessed during Wednesday demonstration were pre-planned going by the extent of damages recorded.
“The damages done on the expressway for that short period of time could be anything up to $5 million and if it reaches that level, then under the agreement with Moja Expressway and the people running this infrastructure, it is the same taxpayers we are being told want to reduce the cost of living, who within 28 days must pay that money as a result of the lawlessness and the impact caused by this mass action,” said Murkomen.
This comes as the government lifted the ban restricting public service vehicles from using the Nairobi Expressway which was launched in June last year after twenty months of construction under the Public Private Partnership (PPP).
“We are now opening it for PSV vehicles that want to use this route and we want to make sure that we support this infrastructure because the future of delivery of infrastructure in Kenya is no longer going to be purely on using taxpayers’ money. We can use private investments like Moja Expressway Company to do PPP programmes,” he added.
Other infrastructure destroyed during the demonstration include the Embakasi railway station. However, while no staff was injured, Moja Expressway said the most affected section was a 700m stretch between Syokimau and Mlolongo.
