Deputy President Kithure Kindiki has stepped up the Government’s development push in Lari Constituency, highlighting a raft of road, market, housing, electricity, agriculture and education projects as he urged residents to judge the administration by its record of delivery.
Speaking during a public engagement rally at Nyambari Market on Monday, Prof Kindiki said the Government was prioritizing infrastructure and agricultural interventions intended to improve household incomes, create jobs and open up markets for farmers and small traders.
He launched the Nyambari Economic Stimulus Programme (ESP) Market and the Uplands-Githunguri road, with local leaders accompanying him during the inspection of ongoing works.
The Deputy President said the Nyambari market, which is about 60 per cent complete, would cost Sh54 million and accommodate about 200 traders once finished.
The two storey facility will have 120 traders on the ground floor and another 80 on the first floor. It will also include a cold room, dry room, mother and child facility, play area, social hall and an ICT hub.
More than 100 local workers, including professionals in the construction sector, have already been engaged in the project, officials said.
Kindiki said the market was part of a wider programme under which 29 modern markets are being constructed in Kiambu, with two additional facilities in the pipeline.
Lari will have three of the markets, including the Sh56 million Soko Mjinga facility, which he said was nearing completion, and the Nyambari market.
One of the additional markets is planned for Kangaa.
The projects are intended to replace informal trading centres where farmers and traders operate in dusty, muddy and unhygienic conditions.
“Even if you have a small amount of stock, you should be able to sell it in a clean and dignified environment,” Kindiki said, adding that the facilities would also provide parking and other amenities for customers.
Lari’s economy is heavily dependent on agriculture, with the constituency producing vegetables, pears and milk for markets in Nairobi and other parts of the country. The constituency’s development office says Nyambari and Soko Mjinga are major vegetable markets, while farmers also supply milk to several local processing plants.
Kindiki used the rally to defend the Government’s agricultural interventions, saying subsidised inputs and investment in agricultural infrastructure were aimed at reducing production costs and increasing farmers’ earnings.
He said fertiliser prices had been reduced from Sh7,000 to Sh2,000 a bag, while certified maize seed had fallen from Sh300 to Sh150 per kilogram.
The price of sexed semen, he said, had also dropped from Sh8,000 to Sh1,400.
The Deputy President further cited improved coffee prices, saying earnings had risen from about Sh50 to between Sh130 and Sh150.
He also pointed to the Government’s investment in milk cooling facilities, saying nine coolers recently delivered to Kiambu brought the number provided to the county to 14.
Nationally, he said, 230 milk coolers had already been distributed, with another 630 ordered.
The facilities are being channelled through dairy cooperatives to reduce milk losses and improve returns to farmers.
Kindiki said the Government was also investing in roads and markets to connect farmers to consumers and reduce post harvest losses.
The Deputy President said Kiambu was benefiting from a major road construction programme involving 1,656 kilometres at an estimated cost of Sh152 billion.
He said 368 kilometres had so far been completed at a cost of Sh19.8 billion.
In Lari, he highlighted the 15-kilometre Nyambari-Uplands-Kambaa-Githunguri road, saying the wider network, including connecting roads, would cover about 28 kilometres.
Together with the Kagwe-Mungero and Kagwe-Githunguri roads, he said the network under the same contractor would amount to about 53 kilometres.
Kindiki also defended progress on the Lironi Mau Summit road, dismissing earlier claims that the project would not take off.
He said the section linking the area towards Naivasha would be completed and handed over in the coming months, before the road network proceeds towards Gilgil, Nakuru and Mau Summit.
He said the wider highway would benefit Kiambu, Nakuru and parts of Nyandarua by improving movement of agricultural produce and other goods.
He also cited the Mau Mau Roads Lot 1A project running from Matathia through Kimende and Mai Mahiu to Kagaa.
The Government is also constructing 752 affordable housing units at View Point at a cost of Sh2.2 billion, according to Kindiki.
He said the housing programme, alongside markets, roads and student accommodation projects, was intended not only to provide facilities but also to create employment for young people.
At Lari TVET, construction of hostels with capacity for 580 students is expected to commence, with Kindiki saying he would follow up on the project as part of the commitments made by President William Ruto.
The Deputy President also said Sh432 million had been allocated for electricity connections to 2,500 households in Kiambu that remain without power.
Lari will receive Sh22 million to connect about 100 households, he said.
The Escarpment Irrigation Project is also receiving Sh500 million to expand access to water for irrigation and farming.
Kindiki further said Kiambu had joined the National Equipment Support Programme aimed at equipping hospitals.
On healthcare, Kindiki said about 1.5 million people in Kiambu had registered with the Social Health Authority (SHA), representing 63 per cent of the estimated 2.4 million target.
He said national registration had reached 33 million people.
The Deputy President urged more residents to enrol, saying access to healthcare remained an important component of the Government’s social protection agenda.
The development message was accompanied by a strong appeal for political restraint ahead of the 2027 General Election.
Kindiki urged leaders to tone down insults and personal attacks, saying political competition should not be allowed to divide communities or trigger violence.
He said elections should be treated as a temporary contest, after which Kenyans would continue living and working together.
“Let politics and elections not divide us,” he said, urging leaders to allow voters to choose their preferred candidates and respect the outcome.
He said he had forgiven leaders who had criticised or insulted him and would continue concentrating on development projects.
Kindiki also invoked the role of elders in promoting peace, saying elders from different communities were engaging in efforts to discourage political violence and strengthen national cohesion.
His remarks come as political activity begins to intensify ahead of the 2027 elections. He also used the occasion to urge residents to maintain unity within Mount Kenya and across the country.
The Deputy President also renewed the Government’s crackdown on illicit and harmful alcoholic drinks, saying manufacturers and traders would face fresh scrutiny.
He said all alcohol manufacturers would undergo renewed vetting and their licences reviewed to establish whether they meet health and quality requirements.
The announcement follows a renewed national crackdown on harmful alcoholic drinks, with Kindiki warning dealers recently that authorities would arrest and prosecute those selling poisonous products.
He said the campaign should be treated as a public health and security operation rather than a political contest.
Kindiki specifically named locally known illicit brews, including “Kathuri Ngui” and “Mugondora”, saying their sale must stop.
He called on residents to work with security and Government agencies by providing information on manufacturers and distributors.
Lari MP Mburu Kahangara welcomed the Government’s investment in roads and markets, saying the projects would strengthen the local agricultural economy.
He urged the Government to continue with the fight against harmful alcohol and raised concerns over land related issues linked to plans around the Nairobi River, calling for public participation before any action affecting residents’ property.
Another local leader, who identified himself as a 2027 Senate aspirant, praised the road and market projects and urged residents to support what he described as a development-focused approach.
Kindiki responded by backing Kahangara’s contribution and urging residents to continue focusing on development.
The Deputy President’s visit came days after his Limuru tour, where he flagged off nine milk coolers for dairy cooperatives and issued a fresh warning to dealers in harmful alcoholic drinks.
For Lari residents, however, the immediate focus remained on the roads, market and agricultural infrastructure expected to reshape the movement of farm produce and trade across the constituency.
The Nyambari market project is therefore emerging as part of a broader attempt to link Lari’s productive agricultural hinterland with better trading facilities and transport infrastructure.
