City road named after Kenneth Matiba
Accra Road in Nairobi’s central business district (CBD) has been renamed Kenneth Matiba Road in honour of the late second liberation icon.
This comes barely two weeks after the Nairobi County Assembly passed a motion to rename the road after the veteran politician, three years after his demise.
On Tuesday, Roads and Transport Executive Mohammed Dagane supervised the works at the CBD where the road sign bearing the late Matiba’s name was erected to replace the existing one.
This is now the third road to be renamed in the capital city this year alone.
Two weeks ago, Eastleigh’s First Avenue lane was renamed Mohammed Yusuf Haji Avenue in honour of the late Garissa Senator who died in February.
In February, Kapiti Crescent Road in South B was renamed in honour of the late football legend Joe Kadenge.
The late Matiba died at Karen Hospital on April 18, 2018, aged 85 years, after suffering cardiac arrest.
In the motion by Nairobi Central Ward MCA Daniel Ngegi, the county legislators unanimously agreed that having the road named after the second liberation icon will be a fitting tribute to a man “who sacrificed his life for a better Kenya”.
While approving the Motion, the MCAs raised concerns that despite the late Matiba’s immense contributions to the country, there was nothing in his honour.
Ngegi said Matiba’s contributions to the multiparty democracy the country currently enjoys cannot be gainsaid and having Accra Road renamed Kenneth Matiba Road would go a long way in having his name remembered by generations to come.
He pointed out that the former Kiharu MP and 1992 presidential candidate also left an indelible mark in the hospitality and education sectors and was an accomplished public servant having served as the first African Permanent Secretary (PS) for education in 1963.
Matiba also served as PS for commerce, chairperson of the Kenya Football Federation between 1974 and 1978, Minister for Health, Culture and Social Services; and Transport and Communications.