Mwachande Bridge : After 24 Years of Waiting, Lunga Lunga Residents See Progress Under Ruto

Mwachande Bridge 

By Caroline Katana.

For nearly 24 years, residents of Mwarutswa and surrounding villages in Lunga Lunga, Kwale County, have waited for a bridge they say has become a symbol of years of neglect, disrupted livelihoods and broken promises.

The Mwachande Bridge, located along the road linking Msambweni and Lungalunga su_counties , collapsed more than two decades ago, leaving residents to contend with a difficult and sometimes impassable crossing.

Now, residents say they are finally seeing tangible progress.

The bridge project has an allocation of approximately KSh538 million and is currently about 63 per cent complete, giving residents renewed hope that a problem that has followed them through successive administrations could finally be resolved.

But after years of waiting, residents are asking the government to maintain the momentum until the project is completed.

For Mwanamisi Bakari Mwaruma, a resident of Mwarutswa, the bridge has been part of her life for almost 24 years.

“When the bridge collapsed, I had not even been married. Until I got married, we were still crossing the same way,” Mwaruma said.

She said the community had watched the problem persist through the administrations of former leadership , despite repeated appeals for the bridge to be restored.

According to residents, it is only under the current administration of President William Ruto that they have begun to see significant progress on the long-standing project.

Mwaruma said she fears the project could stall before completion, as residents have experienced years of waiting and uncertainty.

“It is in the process, but it can reach this point and then stop. The people working on it could leave and we would have nobody to ask. That is why I am saying it should not stop where it has reached. Let it continue until it is finished,” she said.

The collapse of the bridge has had consequences beyond transportation.

For women, particularly those who are pregnant or experiencing medical emergencies, the poor crossing can turn a journey to hospital into a painful detour.

“When we are pregnant or when we give birth and sometimes experience complications, we want to cross, but we have to go all the way around towards Msambweni. By the time you get there, you may already be in pain,” Mwaruma said.

Children going to school across the bridge have also been affected.

During heavy rains, residents say the crossing can become impassable, leaving pupils unable to attend classes.

“There are children who go to school on the other side. When it rains, they cannot go to school. That is something that hurts us,” she said.

For traders, the bridge has been an economic barrier.

Mwaruma, who is a trader, said the poor crossing forces residents to take longer routes when transporting produce to markets.

“If the bridge is repaired, I can take my oranges to Kongowea without difficulty. It will help me in my business and it will also help my children who study on the other side,” she said.

She wants the government to improve the road alongside the bridge, saying residents would continue to struggle if the route remains muddy and slippery.

“This bridge is the road itself. If you give us the bridge without tarmacking the road, we will still have the same problem because this place becomes slippery,” she said.

Suleiman Mohamed Ali, another Mwarutswa resident, said the community had raised the bridge issue repeatedly under previous administrations but saw little action.

He said residents eventually resorted to peaceful demonstrations to attract the attention of the authorities.

“This bridge collapsed before the  President Ruto administration. At that time, it was not being worked on. We demonstrated many times, but it was not addressed,” Ali said.

Ali said the bridge remained unresolved during both the former president Mwai Kibaki and Uhuru Kenyatta administrations.

“Kibaki was there and then Uhuru came. The bridge continued like that until recently when we started seeing it being constructed,” he said.

The current progress, he added, has given residents a different sense of hope.

“We are grateful because we can see the work. We are asking them to put more effort into it so that the bridge is completed early,” he said.

Residents say their protests and engagement with the media helped draw attention to their plight.

Ali recalled that journalists were invited to witness the difficulties residents faced during the demonstrations, helping amplify their demands.

“We saw that it was better to demonstrate and have journalists like you come. That is how our situation was seen,” he said.

The bridge serves several communities along the Msambweni-Kikoneni-Lunga Lunga corridor and, according to residents, forms part of an important route towards Tanzania.

Its condition has therefore affected trade far beyond Mwarutswa.

“This bridge connects many places. The road goes to Tanzania, Kikoneni and Lunga Lunga, and connects different villages. It has disrupted a lot of trade,” Ali said.

For young people, the bridge has affected both education and employment.

Yassin Athmani Kalamu, a boda boda rider from Mwarutswa, knows the problem from both perspectives.

He attended Mwachande Primary School across the bridge and remembers how flooding would sometimes prevent pupils from reaching school.

“When the bridge fills with water, this place can remain impassable for two weeks. We cannot cross. How can we keep up with the lessons on the other side?” Kalamu posed.

He believes the disruption contributed to poor academic performance among children from the affected communities.

Today, Kalamu earns a living as a motorcycle taxi operator, travelling between Msambweni and Kikoneni.

But he says the poor crossing has made the business increasingly difficult.

He explained that a rider charging about Sh350 for a journey can be left with little after meeting costs associated with crossing and buying fuel.

The situation, he said, has contributed to some motorcycle owners losing their assets after failing to repay loans.

“Many of our motorcycles, which we acquired through loans and credit, are being taken back by lenders because we cannot make enough money,” he said.

The bridge has also affected farmers and traders transporting produce to markets.

Kalamu gave the example of farmers carrying coconuts to Diani Market, saying the crossing creates additional labour costs.

“If you have 200 coconuts, you need two or three people to help you cross to the other side. You may have to pay them at least Sh500 because they have left their own work to help you,” he said.

Such additional costs, he said, make some businesses unviable.

“We have ended up without work,” Kalamu said.

He believes completion of the bridge would provide young people with an opportunity to rebuild their livelihoods.

Said Bakari Hamisi, another resident, said the impact of the bridge cuts across all sections of the community.

“When this bridge is completed, a pedestrian will benefit, a cyclist will benefit, a motorcycle rider will benefit and a motorist will also benefit. Everyone will benefit from this bridge,” Hamisi said.

He said the bridge had contributed to the decline of businesses in Kikoneni and Lunga Lunga.

Hamisi also described the road as an old route that has served communities for generations, saying residents have waited for meaningful improvements for decades.

He said residents had attempted various approaches to have the issue addressed before eventually organising peaceful demonstrations.

The demonstrations, he said, were driven by a desire to ensure their concerns reached national leaders.

Now, with the bridge construction at about 63 per cent, residents say they are more hopeful than they have been in years.

But that optimism remains cautious.

Mwaruma wants the government to ensure the project does not stall before completion.

For the residents, the approximately KSh538 million investment represents an opportunity to restore a critical connection that has been lost for almost a quarter of a century.

The completed bridge would reconnect communities to schools, hospitals and markets while reducing the costs faced by traders, farmers and transport operators.

It would also provide a safer and more reliable route for pregnant women, children and other residents who have had to navigate the difficult crossing for years.

For Mwarutswa, Mwachande, Kikoneni and neighbouring communities, the demand is now straightforward - after 24 years of waiting, they want to see the bridge completed.

“We are asking the President to ensure the bridge does not stop where it has reached. Let it continue until it is finished,” Mwaruma said.