‘Bromance’ Between President Uhuru Kenyatta and ODM Leader Raila Odinga is giving hope to the revival of Kisumu ghost towns through the railway project.
Rusty and dilapidated buildings are what remains of the once vibrant train station at Kibos in Kisumu.
The shopping centre near the station that was a hive of activity on any day in the 1980s and 1990s has lost its lustre.
The buildings at the shopping centre and the railway station have been abandoned with reports that some residents have since turned them into drug and sex dens.
The now old buildings serve to show the economic blow the region suffered when the old Kisumu-Nakuru railway line collapsed in mid 90s.
Structures that were used as ticketing offices and storage rooms for travellers are now littered with used condoms and cigarette butts.
The collapse of the railway line led to the death of several towns, shopping centres and major markets that dotted it.
Once bustling with life, Kibos, Miwani, Kibigori, Koru and Muhoroni shopping centres in Kisumu County are now eerily desolate. Only a few residents who stayed back keep them alive.
Another such centre affected by the collapse of the railway is Fort Tenan in the neighbouring Kericho County, which also thrived back in the days.
For Miwani and Muhoroni towns, the death of sugar industries that complemented the railway line in improving local economy further compounded matters for residents.
And even today, these shopping centres and towns are still struggling with just a few businesses operating.
Vandalised buildings is what was left of the railway stations where trains stopped to pick passengers and luggage.
However, despite all the gloom, there is hope. The towns and shopping centres are set to regain their statuses thanks to the ongoing revival of the railway line by the national government.
Renovation of the railway line, set to cost Sh3.7 billion, has already started and officials from the Kenya Railways and the Kenya Defence Forces are working round the clock to complete the project.
Excited residents are hopeful the project will be a major boost, not just to Kisumu, but economies of neighbouring counties as well, with the expected revival of ghost towns and shopping centres along the railway line.
Residents of Kibos, Miwani and Koru are hopeful that revival of the railway line with change economic fortunes of the region and improve their lives through creation of jobs.
Kajulu MCA Roy Samo lauded revival of the railway line, saying the shopping centres and towns that dot it, and which were the heart of Nyanza’s economy in the past, would be revived as well.
“Cotton and rice from Ahero Irrigation Scheme, which was the lifeline for many local farmers, was transported through Kibos. With the collapse of the railway line, even landlords who rented out their houses to railway workers lost their source of income,” said Samo.
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The revival of the railway will also boost the newly renovated Kisumu Port, providing cheap transport for cargo from the Port of Mombasa.
Already, a tanker has started ferrying oil from the Kenya Pipeline Authority depot to ships at the port, including MV Uhuru, which has already transported millions of litres of oil to Port Bell in Uganda.
At the weekend, Governor Anyang’ Nyong’o said the ship had ferried more than six million litres from the port.
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