The Cutting Edge

By sheer chance, John Hockley recently stumbled on part of the solution to decongesting Nairobi’s city centre traffic.

He used the railway footbridge to Industrial Area, connecting through Factory Street, and it took him only 10 minutes instead of an hour driving.

He, therefore, wants the City Council to liaise with railways on how this facility can be improved for use by more people.

“South B and C matatus would not have to come into the city to save the many hours wasted in traffic jams.”

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Echoing the sentiments of Josephine Lore, who has lost faith in the Transport ministry, John Muchira says the long-term solution to the traffic jams is to interlink the major residential areas and suburbs with the city centre through a rail network.

According to John, one of the options would be to introduce a properly managed light rail system or “better still, build subways”.

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There isn’t much Nairobi City Council can do about the people camping in the vacant plot on Mucai Drive, off Ngong Road, just after Mimosa Court, whom Ngumo estate residents complained were up to no good, because it’s private property, says Town Clerk Philip Kisia.

He adds: “What they are complaining about emanates from private property, and is thus beyond the council’s jurisdiction. Therefore, the issue is best addressed to the security organs of the government.”

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For Ochele Joash, the greatest shame is that Nyatike constituency in south Nyanza does not have a single paved road.

And this, he adds, despite numerous promises that the Muhuru-Migori road would be tarmacked to reduce the cost of transporting fish from the landing beaches to the processing factory. Roads minister Franklin Bett and local MP Dick Anyanga should take notice.

“We’ve suffered for too long. Give us our first tarmac road,” he pleads.

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Is there any good reason why activist Okiya Okoiti Omtatah’s name was not on the presidential awards list for 2009? asks Steve Mukindia.

“This brave Kenyan had in the past year gone the extra mile in the fight for justice. If his many heroic deeds are anything to go by, he deserves some sort of national award. But many are the times he rubbed the government the wrong way, perhaps why he was left out,” concludes Steve.

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While agreeing that the Kikuyu also corrupted some English words and expressions, Peter Nyoro says X.N. Iraki shouldn’t mislead others that Tigoni was a corruption of “tea growing”.

It was, in fact, derived from “tea zone”, Peter clarifies and goes ahead to add a few examples of his own.

The famous one of the town known as Karatina, which came from “quarantine”, Ruthigiti “Rose Gate”, turungi “true tea”, and kabiaru (coffee alone).

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Kadhi’s courts are nothing new, as they are in the current Constitution and should not be confused with sharia law, says Abdi Mohammed, disappointed with some church leaders opposition to “something that has never caused any problems”.

He adds: “Let’s strengthen our faiths without feeling threatened by one another. We, Kenyan Muslims follow the State law like our compatriots. I urge Christian leaders not to mislead the country.”

Have a harmonious day, won’t you!

E-mail: watchman@nation.co.ke or write to Watchman, POB 49010, Nairobi 00100. Fax 2213946.