Emali-Loitoktok Road and your next kachumbari dish

Four decades after we attained independence, the South Kajiado hinterland of Loitoktok and home to the red onion, can shortly be accessed via a bitumen standard road (tarmac); according to a tender appearing in the local dailies. The 100 kilometer road operationally known as C102, starts from Emali Township on the Mombasa-Nairobi highway and ends at the Loitoktok Border. I once used this road in the nineties and the memory of the born-jarring rock-strewn trail are as vivid today as they were the five hours we used to reach Kimana Sanctuary on the fringes of the Amboseli/Mzima eco-system. Driving a Nissan van on that road made us feel like we had inappropriately dressed in jeans and t-shirts to a formal dinner! Every one of the very few and scattered vehicles we saw on that road, was either an old battered Land Rover bearing farm produce or an equally weather-beaten lorry. Boulders with a six inch diameter pave the full length, rendering the drive on15 inch tires to an awkward dance akin to a bare feet walk over smoldering charcoal. I don’t know the history of the road and whether politicians have used it as a bait to get elected, but I know that some very fertile farmland on the foothills of the mighty Kilimanjaro was turned into valueless patches of ochre colored soil. I also know that Kimana Group Ranch has the most compelling tourist product in the form of the Kimana Sanctuary. The weather in this region is the most ideal for red onions, and I know Kenya will get the veggie cheaply if the road opens up the hinterland. The livestock farmers will also gain as will the residents of the border town from whatever products there are on the other side. I look forward to my repeat visit to Kimana, maybe attempt an ascent of the Kilimanjaro, maybe drive into Tanzania through Namanga and out at Loitoktok or explore the Chyulus from the Loitoktok end. I am exited by new roads. The construction of one is an exercise in patience, but when you know that the end product will be like (see picture), holding your bated breath, crossing your fingers and hoping is easily done for the 24 months it may take to complete this road.