Gachagua Rejects Chirchir’s Rironi-Mau Summit Road Delay Reasons

Democracy for Citizens Party leader Rigathi Gachagua asserted that the construction of the Ksh200 billion Rironi-Mau Summit road faces stalling due to a dispute between the government and a Chinese lender. According to Gachagua, the expansion of the vital highway has not slowed because of a lack of bitumen, as claimed by Transport Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir on Saturday, October 31. Speaking during a church service in Kikuyu, Kiambu County, on Sunday, November 1, Gachagua alleged that the Chinese government has withheld funding for the project, perceiving it as overly risky ahead of next year’s election. Now, I have been informed that Chinese government officials have refused to release funds for this road because they view it as a political project and consider it too risky, given that we have an election coming up next year, Gachagua stated. In his strong response to the administration, the former deputy president insisted that internal sources indicate the contractors simply lack the funds to proceed. On Friday, October 30, while appearing before a Senate Committee, CS Chirchir postponed the opening of the 60-kilometer highway section to early December 2026, drawing severe criticism toward the government. During an inspection tour of the road on Saturday, officials managed to secure bitumen for the initial stretch, with the contractor expected to pave about 4 kilometers daily to accelerate progress. Bitumen availability has been a challenge in the last 2 months due to the current geopolitical issues and supply chain disruptions; this has caused some setbacks and unexpected delays, Chirchir stated. In his rejoinder, Gachagua maintained that the CS was not being truthful with citizens regarding the actual causes of the project stagnation. I heard the Minister for Roads, Chirchir, claim that works on the road have stalled due to a lack of bitumen, or perhaps because of the conflict between Iran and the United States. The truth is, the Chinese have simply stated that there is no money, Gachagua added. He claims the contracted Chinese firm has been informed that financial resources are unavailable to resume the expansion, which has already encountered major setbacks. He has since demanded that the two Chinese companies refund the money by October next year, following the arrival of a new administration. Neither the Chinese company nor the ministry had responded to the claims by the time of publication.