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Lawmaker bemoans ‘dangerous’ Outer Ring Road


Embakasi West MP George Theuri has urged the government to erect barricades along Outer Ring Road in Nairobi, so as to curb the rising cases of accidents and deaths.

The lawmaker noted that the increasing deaths of pedestrians who attempt to cross the busy dual carriage highway instead of using footbridges are on the rise.

He raised concerns over a surge in cases of accidents along the road with the stretch between former Taj Mall and Allsops on Thika road, adding that at least four people lose their lives every month.

“Could the Ministry (of Transport) consider putting barricades between the two locations so as to forestall recurrence of multiple accidents which are being witnessed almost on a daily basis? We receive weekly reports of pedestrian accidents at my office by residents with most of them being as a result of failure to use the footbridges that have been provided for,” said Mr. Theuri.

The 13 kilometre Outer Ring Road was dualled by Chinese firm Sino Hydro Tianjin Engineering Limited at a cost of Sh8.5 billion and launched in 2015.

However, Kenya Urban Roads Authority (Kura) has been faulted for failing to ensure the busy road is well maintained.

As a response, the agency has been erecting footbridges along the road with the plan to put up 11 footbridges at a cost of Sh880 million.

Early this month, Kura closed the Taj Mall/Pipeline section to install footbridge trusses.

In June 2018, the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) ranked this road as the most dangerous in Nairobi.

And in August 2019, it was second only to Mombasa Road in terms of reported fatalities.