One man’s tears over Thika Road expansion project

John Kariuki Macharia watches broodingly as vehicles zoom by on the rehabilitated section of the Thika Super Highway, metres away from what he has called home for the last 15 years. He curses silently; wishing that he did not live close to the facility.

Not that the 58-year-old is against development. According to Macharia, who walks with a limp after a road accident that saw him cheat death narrowly, the highway is strangling him economically.

Compensation hiccups

His Sh68 million fortune that he built with blood, sweat and tears, is collapsing like a pack of cards before his very eyes, thanks to compensation hiccups created by what he calls deceitful Ministry of Lands officials.

John Macharia, a property owner along Thika superhighway is about to lose all he has worked so hard for.

The fortune comprising land adjacent to the road –– not a reserve –– a fleet of three transport lorries, dairy cows, a hardware shop, poultry and a 60 metre deep borehole are today the subject of a bulldozer onslaught after the land was identified for forceful acquisition for facilities connected with the road.

And Macharia is not alone. Sixty-two other people are affected in an area covering about 15 acres four kilometres away from Juja town where the Government intends to construct a weighbridge and a toll station. A makeshift weighbridge is currently in operation a stone’s throw away from Macharia’s property.

What complicates matters for Macharia is that the rest of those affected warmed up to what they were offered or were arm twisted into accepting compensation incommensurate with their investments and left leaving him alone.

“I was offered Sh10 million, which is the value of my transport lorries alone. I could not take that and threats of demolition have since hung over my head like the sword of Damocles,” laments Macharia.

“Apprehension that I would lose the shop and the cows to bulldozers without notice to salvage anything, prompted me to resort to panic disposal and the subsequent collapse of the two enterprises that between them earned me approximately Sh4,500 every day,” explains Macharia.

He says whatever accrues from the lorries, his remaining source of livelihood, can hardly pay bank loans he had taken to bolster his businesses. “I am afraid the banks could come for these lorries if this compensation controversy continues strangling my income,” he rues.

In his state, Macharia dreads turning into a pauper after so many years of struggle.

“We welcome the super highway as a positive development, but those charged with looking after the welfare of land owners along the way should be considerate,” he says, adding that many people moved out of their property prematurely for fear of victimisation.

“Many did not know the difference between evacuation from road reserve that is normally done inhumanely, mindless of the plight of the encroacher, and displacement from a freehold land. They reluctantly left after pocketing only a pittance, and yet they had been robbed.

“Now, some are thinking of appealing against the paltry offers they accepted in what could be a tough bid to re-navigate the Rubicon and re-join me on this side when they have already crossed,” says Macharia.

The man stares at bulldozers and other demolition machines as he pleads for intervention from higher authorities while exploring legal avenues.

To that end, he has written to the Ministry of Lands that handles such matters on behalf of the Roads ministry, stating his intention to seek the assistance of land tribunal if his compensation is not revised upwards to reflect the true value of his property and proceed to the High Court if need be.

Macharia, a 1979 BSc Chemistry graduate of the University of Nairobi worked with the Government Chemist for 13 years before he opted for early retirement in 1993 to venture into business. He bought the plot along Thika Road in 1995, the same year a tragic road accident left him with a serious leg injury.

“My leg was to be amputated and it was a miracle that I had not lost it when I came out of hospital three months later. The disability I sustained was such that I was exempted from paying income tax. I have a medical letter to that effect.