Githurai residents dice with death on dangerous city bridge

The killer bridge in Kahawa, about 100 metres off the Thika Road in Nairobi's Githurai 45. Documents show that the defunct City Council of Nairobi had allocated Sh10 million but the bridge was never constructed. PHOTO | MARTIN MUKANGU | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Those not bold enough hire young men to carry them on their backs across the bridge.
  • Children often cry as they approach the bridge, apprehensive of the danger ahead.
  • Between 5.30 am and 8am, residents jump off the railway line as the trains zoom past.
  • Documents show that the defunct City Council of Nairobi had allocated Sh10 million but the bridge was never constructed.

It is a daily dance with death. The bridge is on a railway line with wide gaps between the rails, enough for a grown-up man to fall through into the sewage-riddled river below.

Mothers with children strapped to their backs take short steps as traders carrying farm produce engage in a delicate balancing act to cross the 30-metre bridge of death.

Those not bold enough hire young men to carry them on their backs across the bridge.

Children often cry as they approach the bridge, apprehensive of the danger ahead.

The Kahawa bridge, about 100 metres off the Thika Superhighway in Githurai 45 in Nairobi, connects the road to five populous estates and villages.

DEATHS AND INJURIES

In five years, eight people have plunged to their death into the river. Another four ended up with broken limbs.

Last Monday, a man known as Muniu from a nearby village died from injuries he sustained when he fell.

Friday, another man fell into the river and died.

Apart from Githurai 45, the catchment villages of the bridge are Kamae, Soweto, Kiwanja, Congo and Mji wa Furaha with a combined population of 52,000 residents, according to data at the local Constituency Development Fund office.

Mr Peter Kagucha, a boda boda, says: “We live in fear of either falling downstream or being knocked by trains.”

Three years ago, Ms Lucy Wanjiru, a mother of three, lost a brother after he missed the steps and went tumbling down at night. His body was found after two days.

This is a busy route for commuter and goods trains, which make at least six trips a day.

Between 5.30 am and 8am, residents jump off the railway line as the trains zoom past.

Two years ago, Mr Joseph Kimani, a rider from Githurai 45, pushed his motorbike off the railway line to avoid a crash with an oncoming train.

Mr J.K. Njoka, an inspector with the Kenya Railways, says: “Three trains from Ruiru make three trips every morning and evening. We cannot stop people from using the bridge,” he says.

In the 45 minutes this reporter spent at the bridge in the morning, more than 400 residents crossed over, in addition to more than 50 motorbikes, each fully loaded with food and other merchandise.

FRUSTRATED

While fixing the bridge would remain the area’s most important project, Kahawa ward representative Amos Mbuthia is a frustrated man.

“Allocations for this bridge have never been utilised. We have been waiting and watching as residents risk their lives,” said Mr Mbuthia.

The member of the county assembly says residents who do not use the bridge spend Sh100 to reach the main Githurai 45 market through Roysambu. “But the bridge route is only one-and-a-half kilometres,” says Mr Mbuthia.

Documents show that the defunct City Council of Nairobi had allocated Sh10 million but the bridge was never constructed.

At City Hall’s Department of Public Works, Sh15 million has again been budgeted in this financial year but there is scepticism that work will start any time soon.

Chief officer of roads and public works Christine Ogut has often cited the bridge as one of the county’s priorities but so far nothing has been done.
Residents use the railway line after work to construct the Kahawa West-Congo-Githurai 45 road hit a snag.

A request by Roysambu MP Waihenya Ndirangu and the Kenya Rural Roads Authority for the road was rejected by the Kenya Railways.

“We are in the process of upgrading commuter services along the Makadara-Dandora-Kahawa-Ruiru-Thika section.

"It will involve doubling certain sections of the track and building new stations.

"We, therefore, decline your request,” the Kenya Railways wrote to Mr Ndirangu on January 15.

The road’s authority proposal would have avoided a 500-metre swampy section and utilise the railway land reserve near Kahawa barracks.

The local Constituency Development Fund has proposed that the road would link up with the Thika Superhighway and the northern bypass near Farmers Choice factory.

It would enable 300 lorries, 120 pick-ups and 400 motorbikes to provide transport for the rapidly growing hardware and food businesses.