Infrastructure

State Offers Sh100,000 Reward for Reporting Vandals

Over 30 street poles worth Sh2.5 million vandalized in Nairobi in three months.

Updated on

September 27, 2019

A damaged section of Thika Road. PHOTO | FILE

A network of highly organised groups of vandals is threatening to derail the government’s bid to improve Kenya’s road network as the syndicate intensifies its destruction of public infrastructure fittings in search of scrap metal.

According to the Kenya Urban Roads Authority (Kura), aggressive vandalism of guard rails, road signs, and streetlights is currently underway in Nairobi – mostly affecting Thika Road, Outer Ring Road, Lang’ata Road, and Ngong Road.

“We have observed with utter shock wanton vandalism of streetlights, guard rails, road signs, among others on most of our urban networks,” says Kura acting director general Silas Kinoti.

“We appeal to members of the public to name, shame and expose those vandalizing public utilities and arrest this type of selfishness.”

Kura disclosed that about 30 street poles valued at Sh2.5 million have been vandalised in Nairobi in the past three months – further frustrating the agency’s efforts to maintain city roads.

In a frantic bid to stem this trend, Kura has now pledged a cash reward to any individual who discloses information that will lead to the arrest of these criminals and their associates.

“The authority is giving out a reward of Sh100,000 to anyone who can provide reliable information leading to the arrest of these culprits and their partners in the illegal trade,” Mr Kinoti said.

Whistleblowers can call the authority at 020-272222 or 0717105233.

In 2014, Thika Road slid into neglect and disrepair barely two years after the Sh31 billion highway was opened to motorists.

Sections of the road had been damaged, drainage slab covers broken and guardrails knocked down. There were a few small potholes along the way and the road crumbles in several places.

Most of the damages have since been repaired, although the highway’s safety and aesthetic standards remain undermined by vandals.

Like Thika Road, the Mombasa-Nairobi standard gauge railway has also seen the worst of vandalism. In 2017, its operator China Road and Bridge Corporation disclosed that vandals had carted away Sh1.2 billion worth of scrap metal from the railway barely five months after the facility was inaugurated.

According to CRBC, the economic terrorists were stealing over Sh10 million worth of steel bars, electricals and fence materials daily – compromising the safety of passengers who use the Madaraka Express trains.