Thika MP Aide's Prompt Response Averts A Bloody Clash Over Road.

Engineer Stanley Kang’ethe’s swift reaction on Saturday morning thwarted what could have been a bloody clash between Thika Jua kali Artisans and the residents of Bulleys Estate near over the decision by the landlords and tenants to block makeshift road linking Thika-Garissa Road and Kenyatta Highway at Pilot Estate.

This follows the diversion of Kenyatta Highway at Nampak to pave way for the rehabilitation of the road.

The residents had contracted a caterpillar excavator to dig a trench that blocked the path the vehicles were using leaving them with no other option but to use the main Thika-Garissa Highway. This in turn caused a heavy traffic jam on the highway that blocked all the outlets towards town from Makongeni Estate.

Business in Jua Kali stalled as vehicles completely blocked the entry. After some time, the artisans decided that they could not take it any longer and forcefully covered the trench, a move that irked the residents of Bulleys Estate.

They confronted the Jua Kali guys who resisted their advances, a situation that resulted to a scuffle and fist fight.

A quick reaction by one of the people there to call Kang’ethe saved the day. He arrived just in time to quell the skirmishes.

After listening to both sides, he pleaded with the residents to allow vehicles to pass through their estate as they worked out a solution to the dust which was the bone of contention. It was agreed that they would constitute a committee of three people who will meet the contractor on Monday to lodge a request for him to be watering the road every day until business on Kenyatta Highway was back to normal.

Blocking of the road meant that vehicles could only access Makongeni via Garissa Road or Kenyatta Highway to branch at Nampak. The former inconvenienced Pilot, Kimathi and Jua Kali commuters who basically had no access to their destinations. Using the latter route inconvenienced all Phase 13, 10, 6 & 7 residents who would be forced either to walk home from Nampak or be dropped at the BAT Junction to board another vehicle to their nearest bus stop.

Hence, Kang’ethe pleaded with Bulleys tenants to bear with dust for now until an amicable solution was reached at.