Transport Ministry Revives Plans to Toll Thika Superhighway & 4 Other Roads

The government through the Ministry of Transport has revived plans to toll major highways across the country after a recent court ruling.

The latest move follows a meeting held between Transport Principal Secretary Joseph Mbugua and the Technical Working Group tasked with implementing the draft National Tollying Policy.

PS Mbugua held a meeting with the team on Tuesday at noon where they formulated an urgent rollout plan for public participation.

Mbugua explained that the Technical Working Group had made progress in preparing for the nationwide public participation which was temporarily halted by the High Court in Nairobi last year.

In August last year, the High Court temporarily suspended the government’s plan to introduce a Road Tolling Policy on major highways across the country.

Among the major highways suspended from tolling included the Mombasa Southern Bypass, the Thika Superhighway, the Dogo Kundu Bypass, and the Kenol-Mau Summit Road.

While issuing the orders, Justice Chacha Mwita ordered the petitioners to serve the respondents with the pleadings. The judge went ahead to grant seven days for the respondents to file their applications.

“In the meantime, a conservatory order is issued restraining the respondents, their agents and servants from implementing the proposed tolling of the five roads,” Justice Mwita ruled. 

The court orders followed a petition filed by the Consumer Federation of Kenya (COFEK) that took the Technical Working Group and the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) to court to halt the process.

However, on January 21, this year, the High Court issued a directive clarifying that the petition filed by COFEK did not stop or affect public participation or stakeholder engagement about the National Tolling Policy.

During the recent judgment, KeNHA committed to conducting a thorough public engagement to allow Kenyans to share their input and help the Authority make informed decisions.

The plans for tolling the five major highways first came to light in March last year when former Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen revealed the government’s plan to collect more revenue through the tolling system.

The former CS informed Kenyans that the government was facing a financial gap in funding critical government projects amounting to billions of money, hence forcing the government to come up with the enhanced tolling system.

Murkomen’s announcement attracted a backlash from Kenyans particularly motorists who threatened to stage demonstrations against the government’s plan.