Ndindi Nyoro opposes plans to toll Nairobi–Nakuru Road, faults cost inflation
By Kiprono Keileb, October 24, 2025Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro has voiced strong opposition to the government’s plan to toll the Nairobi–Nakuru–Mau Summit Road, describing the project as economically unsound and a burden to already overtaxed Kenyans.
Nyoro, while speaking on Friday, October 24, 2025, said the project, which was initially estimated to cost Ksh160 billion, has now risen to about Ksh200 billion; a Ksh40 billion increase without any expansion in distance.
“The Road from Nairobi to Nakuru was anticipated earlier to cost Kenya Ksh160 billion, we have seen that has been revised upwards to around Ksh 200B, that is a Ksh40 billion increase without an increase in kilometres, possibly maybe an increment in interests,” he said.
He questioned the logic of introducing toll charges on a key national corridor used daily by millions of Kenyans, warning that such a model would not work economically.
“There is no country in our region that can afford to toll a corridor road. Economically speaking, it is a wrong model for Kenya to think you can toll the Nairobi–Nakuru road because it can’t work economically,” Nyoro said.
The Kiharu MP noted that the highway serves regions such as the Western, South Rift, North Rift, and Nyanza, and most of those who rely on it are taxpayers who already contribute through multiple levies, including the fuel levy.
“All those Kenyans who primarily use that road, those from Western, South Rift, North Rift, Nyanza and all the regions who use the highway, are Kenyans who pay all manner of taxes and fuel levy. Kenyans who already pay taxes to use the roads, why are they again made to pay taxes to use the roads? That is over-taxation,” he said.
Nyoro also expressed concern over the involvement of the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) in funding the project, arguing that workers’ savings are being used to finance what should be a government responsibility.
“The Nairobi Expressway is making losses, yet the government is forcing NSSF to use money for workers to do what the government ought to have done. That money will never be recovered,” he said.
His remarks come amid growing public debate following a Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) report proposing a toll rate of Ksh8 per kilometre, with annual increments once the project begins.