A Councilor in the defunct Kehancha Town Council and a business man Samwel Kerioba vividly recalls how he used to make tough journeys to and from Kehancha to Migori and Isebania towns as late as 2019.
The stretch of the road from Kehancha to Migori and Isebania towns was a nightmare to motorists who were forced to battle with big water-filled craters and mud on the murram road surface to reach their destinations.
“Migori town was the centre of all business activities where all business people like me converged to procure all the necessary shop items and receive government services,” explained Kerioba during an interview with him recently.
“So it was a must for people to make several journeys to and from this fast growing town to enjoy government services, but at a higher cost in terms of bus fare, time wastage and to extent, health issues,” added the former civic leader.
Mr. Kerioba notes that it took motorists hours to cover the 30 kilometre stretch of the road between Migori and Keahancha, and 22km between Kehancha and Isebania towns owing to the bad states of the two roads.
For commuters, it was another big problem living with the high cost of transport along the stretch of the road as the cricking and unroad-worthy passenger service vehicles demanded unmanageable fares from them to reach their destinations.
Above all, those who made trips on the routes ended up complaining about body-aches following the bumpy rides by the matatus on the roads.
“There were very few vehicles to ferry commuters on the routes and those available were forced to carry beyond their capacities to cope with the big number of travelers on the routes.
However, things have now changed along the routes after the National government tarmacked the two important roads leading to Kehancha and Isebania towns.
The roads form the gate way to the Maasai Mara game reserves and to Serengeti game reserve in the neighboring Tanzania State. Tourists heading to these animal parks disembarks at the newly refurbished Lichota air strips before using these routes to reach their destinations.
The two roads also lead to the sub county headquarters of Kuria West (Kehancha town) and sub-county headquarters of Kuria East (Kegonga town) and, Ntimaru town after and extension was made to the Far East of Kuria land.
For many years back in the 90s, farmers who grew maize, tobacco, millet and sweet potatoes within the Kuria land found it hard ferrying their produce to the market in Nairobi and other towns in Kenya and beyond.
But today it is a smooth ride for farmers from farms to all points of sales, courtesy of the government’s road policy to improve all road communications in Kenya without looking at the political affiliations of the existing communities in a region.
Mrs. Mogesi Chacha says it is unbelievable today that she can board a bus or matatu from Kehancha direct to Nairobi contrary to the previous years when people had to go through the hustles of picking the buses in Migori town.
“From Ntimaru to Kengo through Kehancha town, the road is now smooth and the journey is faster to Nairobi. We also have a variety of vehicles to board along the routes to wherever our destinations,” she says laughing as she extends her appreciation to the national government.
A businessman Paul Kerario says that before the tarmacking of the two roads, the routes were infested with armed robbers who used to waylay people and snatch from them properties and sometimes even kill them for resisting attacks.
Kerario affirms that the tarmacking of the two roads has opened up the region for development, saying that several markets that used to lull in business have now sprung up for serious business activities after the roads made them easily accessible.
“A town like Kegonga which used to host only small business people is now boasting big shops and other business outlets owned by foreigners, and people are truly enjoying smooth rides to and from this region,” he confirmed, as very big cars and matatus zoomed past our spot of morning interview.
A member of staff at the Ena-Coach booking office in Kehancha town, Ms. Mariko Mwita, 43, said for many years he used to travel to Migori town to board a bus to Nairobi. “But today here I am booking passengers destine direct to Nairobi, Mombasa and elsewhere right here in Kehancha town. What a sweet story to tell the World”, he remarked.
Easy-coach driver Morogo Mwita says he used to drive a matatu along the Migori-Kehancha route when the road was bad and that it took him three hours to cover the journey maneuvering big water-filled holes and sometimes stuck in mud.
Today, he says, he smoothly drives the bus within less than 30 minutes to Migori town and to Nairobi without feeling an iota of body-ache.
By George Agimba
