Was Opposition Chief Raila Odinga duped by President Uhuru Kenyatta?
A few weeks ago, the residents of Kisumu were upbeat following news that the SGR will finally get to reach the Lakeside City. Many of them argued that they will soon get to phsically see and enjoy the fruits of the handshake between President Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga.
It all started when Raila Odinga told Luo Nyanza residents that the SGR was going to finally reach Kisumu and that he was heading out to China to source for funding of the same with President Kenyatta.
“I will be part of the delegation that will accompany the President to the Asian country next week. The new SGR line will extend from Naivasha to Narok, Bomet, Sondu and finally Kisumu,” Mr Odinga told a crowd during a stopover rally at Sondu market in Kisumu.
They indeed went to China but came back with no funding for the SGR after the Chinese government turned down the Kenyan Government’s request for a Loan for the same.
Fast foward, it is now emerging that the government will not even revive the old Nakuru-railway which it promised to connect to the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) in Naivasha.
Transport CS James Macharia had earlier hinted that the Government will revive the Nakuru-Kisumu railway line at a cost of 40 billion only to later change tune on Wednesday.
The CS has now confirmed that the Nakuru-Eldoret-Malaba would instead be revived. This he said was because the Kisumu Railway line was so dilapidated but promised the ministry would consider extending the SGR to the lakeside city in the future.
“The reality is that the Nakuru-Kisumu line is not in good shape; it has 17 bridges which have been vandalized and may require doing a new line altogether”.
“We will have to weigh against the fact that in future, we still have to do the SGR to Kisumu,” Macharia said.
Reviving the Nakuru-Eldoret-Malaba rail line is expected to cost Sh21 billion, making it cheaper than the Kisumu Line.
This will come as bad news for the people of Kisumu and will ultimately look like another win for DP William Ruto and his people as the railway line is set to be revived in his backyard and not in Odinga’s.