Traders from Githima area of Gatuanyaga ward in Kiambu county paralysed operations at Komo to Muguga along the Thika-Garissa highway on Thursday.
The hundreds of locals barricaded the road chanting anti- Kiambu county government slogans over what the termed as the deplorable state of the roads.
The residents demanded immediate rehabilitation of the stretch from Komo area to Muguga along the Thika-Garissa Highway as well as the Githima-Makongeni road.
The locals narrated how the county government has failed to rehabilitate the road but only giving them empty promises now spanning several years ago.
“We are counting millions in terms of losses occasioned by the wear and tear of our vehicles. It is now almost impossible to transport our products in certain sections of these roads. Our trucks and vehicles get stuck in the mud and we can no longer handle the ballooning maintenance cost of our vehicles,” said one truck driver.
David Njoroge, a resident of the area noted that more than 500 hundred lorries use the road daily to ferry stones, earning the County Government of Kiambu collects more than shillings 500,000 per day which was enough to make the road an all-weather road.
“In a day, over 500 lorries ferry the stones from these quarries and pay a lot of money. Why aren't these funds not being used to repair these roads? We shall not pay further dues until the roads are repaired," said Njoroge.
One of the protesters Mr Anthony Ndachi accused the county of laxity in rehabilitating the roads despite them paying millions in taxes.
“It is very clear that the county government does care about us. So far, two investors have been arrested for filling potholes in this area. If they have been unable to repair these roads, we have the capacity to do so. We should be allowed to do it without intimidation. We are fed up with this cycle of impunity,” said Anthony Ndachi.