Uhuru launches modern railway construction at Syokimau

President Uhuru Kenyatta in a company of Deputy William Ruto, the AG Kithu Muigai some Cabinet Secretaries Judy Wakhungu and James Macharia has today lauched the railway construction at Syokimau.
This comes after the National Land Commission (NLC) spearheaded the mega land purchase in six counties including Taita Taveta, Kwale and Makueni with Kenya Wildlife Service losing hundreds of acres to the project.
The Kenya Railways Corporation had gazetted 136 acres of its land for the railway project.
The project sparked a vicious land battle in Kibwezi, Makueni County in October last year, which saw the High Court sitting in Machakos temporarily halt the compulsory acquisition of land in Kibwezi West.
On October 1st, 2009, the governments of Kenya and Uganda signed a MoU for construction of the SGR from Mombasa to Kampala.
The SGR took a regional dimension after the signing of this MoU with Uganda thereby attracting the attention of other East African states.
On August 28th, 2013 Kenyan, Ugandan and Rwandan governments signed a Tripartite Agreement committing to fast track the development of the railway to their respective capital cities.
South Sudan has since come on board as an interested stakeholder in the project.
The Standard Gauge Railway aims at easing transport between the East African states and enabling faster movement of goods and people thereby decongesting the major roads.