Nairobi, KENYA: Police were on Thursday forced to lob teargas to disperse Kasarani matatu operators who were demonstrating over the poor state of Kasarani-Mwiki road in the area.
The crowd engaged the police in running battles even after Kasarani Member of Parliament Mercy Gakuya visited the place to try and salvage the situation.
The residents led by matatus operators were pleading with the county government to try and solve the matter that has been in existence for many years now.
According to Mp Gakuya, county government should be the one to blame for failing to construct a five-kilometer concrete road which connects Kasarani and Mwiki estates.
The strike that started early in the morning, saw operations of all Public service vehicles and personal vehicles come to a standstill as no vehicle was allowed to pass on the road by the residents, forcing some passengers to tarmac to Roysambu which is Approximately 5 km from Mwiki in order to board Matatu towards the city center.
According to the area Mp, new contractors have been contracted to finish up the job that was earlier started by other contractors who executed poor workmanship.
The residents say they took the initiative after empty promises from the county government led by governor Mike Sonko that the road will be worked upon in the shortest time possible.
Even after the Mp Gakuya’s promises, matatus plying on that route are yet to embark on any operation.
