A section of residents from Gatundu North constituency where construction of Karimenu II dam is taking place has protested delay by the contractor to compensate them for damages of their property caused by explosives during construction works.
The locals from Gituamba, Buchana, Kiriko and Gathanji villages narrated that since their houses developed cracks as a result of the blasts, the contractor who had promised to compensate them for damages has been taking them in circles stalling their bid to repair the houses.
They said that the explosives were so powerful that they had caused cracks on the walls of several houses in nearby areas alongside leaving some roofs torn apart and windows shattered.
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Led by Peter Gachagua, the angry locals lamented that some of the stones blasted during the construction works landed in people’s houses, damaging household items.
They decried that the tenants who had rented houses in the area vacated for fear of insecurity leaving them to make losses even as others struggled to repay loans, they had secured to build rentals.
According to Gachagua, a retired teacher and one of the affected persons, their houses developed cracks in 2019 when the dam construction began.
“Since then, the contractor came on site, recorded our details and promised to compensate us in due course but he has since been taking us into circles. Our tenants fled for fear of insecurity and the destroyed property remains unrepaired,” Gachagua noted.
Simon Ndung’u who owns a rental house in the affected area said they had initially planned to move to court over the issue but were persuaded by the local administration officers to allow for negotiations.
“Our local administration here said they would initiate negotiations to ensure that we get our rightful compensation but that has never happened since 2019,” Ndung’u decried.
The angry locals have now vowed to seek redress in court to get compensation.
According to their lawyer Mbutha Mwaniki, an evaluation was done on the damages and the report was communicated to the contractor and the client Athi Water Services but no action has since been taken.
Efforts to reach the contractor were unproductive.
The mega water project that is in excess of 60 per cent complete is hoped to boost water supply to Juja, Gatundu North and South, Ruiru, Kiambu town and parts of Nairobi.
The project has been funded by the government and the China Exim Bank and is being implemented through a joint venture between International Holding Corporation (AVIC) and Shanghai Municipal Engineering Design Institute.
The mega project has three main components among them the dam, water treatment plant of capacity 70,000m3/d, and 67km of raw and treated water pipeline ranging from DN 500mm to 1,000mm.
