Tanzania President Suluhu avoids Mombasa road traffic mess
Tanzania President Samia Suluhu, who is in Kenya for a two-day State visit, was forced to use the Southern Bypass to avoid the traffic madness that characterises Mombasa road.
Suluhu, who landed in the country on Tuesday morning, had her entourage use Southern Bypass, then headed to Lang’ata road, Mbagathi road, and then access State House.
President Suluhu covered the 10km from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) to the bypass junction as motorists using these routes were urged to seek alternative routes.
There have been huge traffic snarl-ups on Mombasa road due to ongoing construction of the Nairobi Expressway with motorists forced to use either the Industrial Area, Jogoo road or South B route as an alternative of getting to the Nairobi Central Business District.
The 27-kilometre expressway from Mlolongo to the James Gichuru Junction in Westlands will cost the taxpayer about Sh65 billion.
In February, the Ministry of Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia said that JKIA-Westlands expressway will be completed by the end of this year.
President Suluhu’s first stop will be at State House where she will inspect a guard of honour and receive a 21-gun salute before proceeding for bilateral meetings and consultations.
President Uhuru Kenyatta and the First Lady Margaret Kenyatta will host an official State Dinner for Suluhu at State House, Nairobi.
The two presidents are expected to hold consultations at a business forum for Tanzanian and Kenyan business community and will also attend a session with executive women in business.
During the State visit, she will make an address at a joint sitting of Kenya’s Parliament.
The State visit comes at a time when Kenya and Tanzania had been strained during the tenure of the late President John Pombe Magufuli.
The two countries will seek to strengthen their ties in trade and people-to-people relations, including in the private sector, arts, culture, wildlife, tourism and bilateral cooperation.
Suluhu, Africa’s only sitting female president, took over after Magufuli died due to heart complications in March, and her visit comes nearly five years since her predecessor made a similar visit.