News

Transport resumes on Kona Punda Section of the Garissa-Nairobi Highway

Transport resumes at the Kona-Punda section, on the Garissa- Nairobi on May 23, 2024. Photo: Issa Hussein, EV.

By Issa Hussein | Thursday, May 23, 2024

More than 10 bus companies that shut down their Garissa offices also resumed passenger bookings on Wednesday.

Transport along the Garissa-Nairobi highway resumed Thursday after the flooded Kona-Punda section was repaired.

For the past four weeks, the transport sector has been paralysed after overflow by the River Tana flooded the Kona Punda section at Mororo in Tana River county.

Keep reading

Residents were forced to rely on speed boat services before the floods receded.

Residents of Garissa town and those involved in the transport industry expressed their excitement at the restart of operations.

Issack Osman Mohamud, a truck driver ferrying livestock to Nairobi, said it was a reprieve after being stranded in Garissa town for the past four weeks waiting for the road to reopen.

"I came here to ferry this livestock but the road was rendered impassible a day before the scheduled departure day, I had to wait since I never got an opportunity elsewhere", he said.

Dubat Ali Amey, Chairman of the Kenya Livestock Marketing Council stated that livestock traders were counting losses of millions over the paralysed transport sector.

"For the last four weeks traders were not buying livestock, some who bought were forced to graze their herd around waiting for the road to reopen", he claimed.

Dubat Ali Amey, Chairman, Kenya Livestock Marketing Council.

He said the repaired road will help to flourish the sector since transportation of livestock to Nairobi began on Thursday.

More than 10 bus companies that shut down their Garissa offices also resumed passenger bookings on Wednesday.

Sharmarke Ahmed Aden who operates a van that transports passengers between Garissa and Nairobi said they were happy to resume ferrying their passengers to and from Nairobi.

He stated that the flooded stretch of the road made life tough since it caused a transportation shutdown and added to the issue by forcing individuals from Mandera and Wajir to travel the Madogashe-Meru road to Nairobi, which was a long distance away.

Vegetable traders from Garissa's Soko Mugdi market buy fresh cabbages transported from Kiambu County. Photo: Issa Hussein, EV.

A spot check by the Eastleigh Voice reveals the arrival of heavy commercial vehicles transporting goods to wholesalers and retail shops.

After four weeks of disruption, light trucks loaded with vegetables from Kiambu County arrived in Garissa, causing vegetable prices to rise.

The Cabinet Secretary of Roads and Transport, Kipchumba Murkomen, who recently toured Garissa town with Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua to examine the impact of the floods, said the government has set aside Sh1.8 billion to rehabilitate the Kona Punda portion of the road.