A Tharaka Nithi resident has forced the Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KeRRA) to release information it had withheld for weeks on the planned upgrade of the Itugururu-Kamaende Road.
According to the Commission on Administrative Justice (Office of the Ombudsman), the move has exposed new details about the controversial project.
The project is part of the first batch of the Arid and Semi-Arid Lands Roads Programme, funded by the French government and the European Union (AFD/EU).
The woman, identified as Ms. CKN from Chuka Igamba Ng’ombe wrote to KeRRA under the Access to Information Act, 2016, demanding clarity on the road diversion.
She raised concerns that maps used by the National Land Commission and the Tharaka Nithi County Government showed the road would cut through private land, yet residents had been left in the dark.
“CKN filed an application for review under the Access to Information Act, 2016, after the Director General of KeRRA failed to respond to her initial request for information,” the Office of the Ombudsman stated.
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Requests Issued by the Tharaka Nithi Woman
Her request sought four key documents, including the original design of the Itugururu-Kamaende Road at the point where the diversion was planned.
According to the woman, the residents suspected that the road was being unfairly diverted through their land to pave the way for the expansion of the nearby airstrip.
Additionally, she demanded documents on the budgetary provision KeRRA had set aside for land acquisition related to the diversion and the proposed new design of the road showing the diversion.
Moreover, she asked the Director General of KeRRA to share the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report regarding the impacts of redirected storm run-off on lower-lying communities.
By law, KeRRA was required to respond within 21 days. Instead, the Director General remained silent, prompting the complainant to lodge a complaint with the Commission on Administrative Justice (Office of the Ombudsman).
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KeRRA Finally Releases Plans Revealing New Details
The Commission then wrote to the Director General, requesting an Institutional Report within seven days.
The Commission, pursuant to Section 22 (3) of the Access to Information Act, 2016, and Regulation 25 (1) of the ATI General Regulations, 2023, hereby notifies you of the application and requests your Institutional Report or any further information relevant to the request within seven days to guide an appropriate decision.
When the documents were eventually sent back, the details of the project revealed that the road had initially been designed to remain within the existing reserve.
However, the expansion of the Itugururu Airstrip, backed by the County Government of Tharaka Nithi, the Kenya Airports Authority, and the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority, had encroached on the road corridor.
This forced a diversion that would require land acquisition and compensation for those affected. However, not all information was provided on the plans.
KeRRA explained that on the original road design, it “withheld the requested design information, citing Section 6 (g) and (i) of the Access to Information Act.”
The agency argued disclosure could undermine an entity’s ability to give adequate and judicious consideration to a matter concerning which no final decision has been taken, and would infringe professional confidentiality.
What Next for Residents of Tharaka Nithi
At the same time, on the matter of compensation, the authority stated that it had no budgetary provision.
“The County Government of Tharaka Nithi initiated and executed the land acquisition process. The Authority, therefore, had no budgetary provision for compensation and directs such inquiries to the County Government,” stated the Authority.
Also, the agency admitted that the new design will only be developed after the necessary corridor is formally acquired through the land acquisition process.
On environmental impacts, KeRRA explained that it will obtain a NEMA license once land acquisition is completed.
“The Authority will obtain an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment report and a NEMA license for the diversion section once the land acquisition process is completed, as required by law.”
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