Residents of Kikuyu in Kiambu County want the construction of the multi-million shillings Southern bypass road halted.
Through their lawyer John Njuguna, the residents want the court to order the contractor to open a blocked access road before the construction can go on.
The bypass links Mombasa Road and Malaba-Uganda road through Lang'ata and Ngong Forest.
In the filed court documents, the residents argue that the initial construction plan had a provision for an access road to Kikuyu but the revised plan had blocked the access road, which would have adverse effect on businesses and people living in Kikuyu town.
They argued that the initial plan that gave Kikuyu a direct access from the highway at Makutano junction had been modified thus locking the town from the highway.
"The new plan effectively deprives Kikuyu town of direct access to the bypass and accordingly denies the business community and residents the means of earning a livelihood," they submitted.
Mr Njuguna argued that the construction of the highway was proceeding at a very fast pace and was at the point of being tarmacked and asked the court to intervene and have the original plan reverted to.
Financial ruin
"The only way to grant relief is to temporarily halt construction of the road at the contentious point adjoining Kikuyu and Makutano to enable consultations and consensus to save the petitioner, business people and residents of Kikuyu from financial ruin," he submitted.
The residents want the Kenya National Highway Authority (KeNHA) and the Cabinet Secretary for Roads to be directed to initiate public participation with all the stakeholders before effecting the new road construction plan.
In a sworn affidavit by one of the petitioners, Evanson Gachoka, the initial plan was for the bypass to serve Kikuyu town via a slip road through Makutano market.
"Due to the planned slip road, plots were compulsorily acquired to enable the road to be expanded and the owners of the plots were compensated but in the new construction plan, the direct slip road linking Kikuyu has been blocked," he added.
He submitted that the effect of the blockage is that the township was now 'landlocked' and cannot be accessed through any direct entry and, therefore, no customers or suppliers can access it.
High Court Judge Mumbi Ngugi certified the matter as urgent and directed the petitioners to serve the correspondents immediately. The matter will be heard on November 7.
