Motorists within Nairobi have expressed frustration over the sad state of some of the roads within Nairobi's Central Business District (CBD).

🇰🇪 Breaking It Down

Footage obtained by  Kenyans.co.ke on August 27 shows a motorist recording the poor state of roads in Nairobi's downtown area, showing massive potholes with dirty water in them.

The potholes, most of which are rectangular in shape, suggest that repair works had begun but were put on hold for a number of unknown reasons.

The motorists are also seen expressing their disappointment that politicians are busy campaigning for the 2027 elective seats and have since abandoned key development projects.

📌 What You Need to Know

"We are really frustrated with this kind of nonsense of poor roads in Nairobi CBD. The government and the politicians are taking us for granted. How can we be in Nairobi when there are potholes everywhere on our roads?" lamented one motorist.

The situation is also dire, if not the same, in Nairobi’s Kilimani and Kileleshwa areas, after  Citizen TV journalist Immanuel Ndung'u ignited widespread online anger in April 2026 after posting a viral video exposing dire potholes on Wood Avenue in Nairobi's Kilimani. Using a tape measure, he documented the road's shocking deterioration for viewers nationwide by measuring the depth of the potholes.

His footage revealed rainwater pooling up to nine centimeters deep inside potholes, with individual craters reaching fifteen to seventeen centimeters, deep, enough, he warned, to inflict serious structural damage on vehicles traversing the battered stretch.

The clip spread rapidly across social media platforms, tapping into months of pent-up frustration among Kilimani and Kileleshwa residents, who blamed heavy construction trucks and inadequate drainage for wrecking their neighborhood's roads.

Within a week, Nairobi County crews arrived to build drainage systems and prepare for full re-tarmacking. Governor Johnson Sakaja also warned developers that trucks damaging roads would face denied occupation licences until repairs were completed.

Redeveloping downtown Nairobi's roads has faced severe delays despite efforts by the Nairobi City County government and KURA , as contractors have repeatedly abandoned projects after payment delays from public coffers, while jurisdictional overlaps between national and county agencies have left key gaps in funding.

📰 Source: Kenyans.co.ke