Residents of Mwamlai in the Jomvu constituency are up in arms accusing a developer of blocking an access passageway to their locality.
The residents lamented that the developer was constructing a perimeter wall around his plot without leaving access to the village.
They accused the developer of reneging on an earlier promise of paving 12 feet of the land to allow people to pass through. They said failure to provide a passageway will blockade the village from essential services like fire engines, and ambulances and disrupt trade in the area.
Daniel Nyamoi, a resident said they have lived in the area for more than 25 years and they have been passing through the area to go for work and take their children to schools.
“Today I am perturbed a developer has come to block a passageway. We don’t know how our school-going children will reach schools, and building materials we don’t know how they will reach our sites,” complained Nyamoi.
He urged the area legislator and Member of the County Assembly to intervene to resolve the stalemate. “We are being harassed by the rich,” said Nyamoi, appealing to the residents to be calm for an amicable solution.
Another resident Benson Ratemo stated that they don’t have an alternative way all they want is an access road.
“To whoever is constructing here, our main concern is a way wherever you are. Our children have to pass here to go to school. Workers depend on this road to access their workplaces,” said Ratemo.
The residents now want the developer to come forth and explain to them how they will access schools and workplaces.
“The passageway is for everyone. If the government decide to close the Mombasa-Nairobi highway what will happen to motorists?” asked Ratemo.
John Kiragu a worker at a nearby Export Processing Zone (EPZ) said thousands of people from the neighboring Changamwe constituency and Mikindani ward will be forced to use a longer route and dig deep into their pockets if the current way is blocked.
“This is our right; they were supposed to leave a throughway but now they want to close it” lamented Kiragu.
On her part, Winnie Mgide said pregnant mothers and sick children would be the worst affected by the blockade.
“When I want to go to hospital I don’t have a way. This village will be cut off from water supply as we rely on water boozers and even supplies to our shops I don’t know how they will reach,” she said.
Julius Gona said other investors in Jomvu have paved the way for the public to pass in their properties leading to a harmonious co-existence.
“We respect investors because we are all taxpayers. It is not politics going on. We will not stop the construction but he should leave a throughway for the public to pass through like other investors have done,” stated Gona urging leaders to intervene before the matter gets out of hand.
By Sadik Hassan
