Evans Obwoge, a resident of Iringa, off the Kisii-Nyamira highway, in Manga sub-county, has depended on selling bricks to support his family since 1994.
But he now claims his livelihood is in danger from what he calls people masquerading as government agents, who have banned setting up kilns and storing bricks on roadsides.
Mr Obwoge dropped out of school in 1994 in Standard Four in order to work and support his family. He never went back to school, but he is now happy because his children can afford a comfortable life and are in “good schools”.
He still banks on brick-making to pay his bills, an income generator he says could be cut off soon.
“In all my years as a brick maker, I have always done the work on the roadside. No one has complained, until recently. We have been told to stop making bricks along the highway and to remove the ready bricks from the road,” he said.
Economic mainstay
The Iringa area and others near the highway are known for brick-making. It is the economic mainstay of many residents. It is common to see rows of bricks arranged off the road. In some places, kilns emit smoke that reduces visibility on the highway.
Grace Nyanduko, a resident of Ekerubo, has been making bricks for five years. She is proud that she is the only woman who has weathered the storms associated with this industry.
“I completed secondary school in 2014 and started some small businesses but I realised they were not doing well. I could hardly earn enough,” she said.
“Then my father passed away and my mother was involved in an accident. I practically remained the sole breadwinner. When the going got tougher, in 2017, I started making bricks for sale.”
Ms Nyanduko, a mother of one, has since grown by leaps and bounds despite the challenges that come her way, she said.
“I have bought much of what we didn’t have. We are better than we were, all thanks to my brick business.”
She hires casuals, who obtain soil for brick-making from her land in the river valley. They do everything, from preparing the bricks to carrying them to the road.
Burning bricks
Like others in her area, she burns her bricks both on the roadside and in the river valley. Both have their ups and downs, but it is more convenient and cheaper to set up a kiln on the roadsides, she said.
“When I have my bricks burnt at the river, I pay less money to transport the ready bricks to the road to sell. Conversely, when I set up a kiln on the road, I pay a little more for transportation of the raw bricks to the kiln,” she said.
“However, it becomes cheaper because I get the firewood right at the kiln. I therefore save on the costs of transportation from the road to the river.
Easy to get buyers
“In addition, when bricks are burnt at the roadside, it is much easier to get customers than when it is down by the river. This is a major highway and road users can spot our products and come to buy them later.”
Mr Obwoge agreed with her.
The bricks near the road, he said, are bought almost as soon as they are ready, unlike those far away from the highway.
“Those on the road can get customers within three days. The longest they can stay is two weeks,” he said.
“On the other hand, those at the river can stay for as long as six months without getting a customer. In fact, I have a friend whose bricks have stayed unsold for a year. It’s a better business strategy to have bricks here on the highway.”
The practice of setting up brick kilns along the highway, he said, started being embraced about 10 years ago when brokers became mischievous and were taking advantage of them.
“They would get customers, hike prices and then lie to the unsuspecting customers about the number of bricks. The gullible buyers would just pay for the bricks, only to realise later that they were sold less than they had paid for,” he said.
“To curb this behaviour and retain our customers, most people started burning bricks at the roadside.”
For Job Nyangweso, setting up brick kilns on the roadside is safer, contrary to what “the government is saying that it jeopardises security”. He has been in this business for 10 years.
“We don’t disturb anyone. The smoke that comes out of these kilns is not thick enough to cause accidents on the road. In fact, we keep night vigils looking after these bricks and in the process serve as security to the pedestrians and motorists,” he said.
Road reserves ‘idle’
He also said that setting up their businesses on the roadside is cheaper as they do not pay for using the road reserves, “which are otherwise idle”.
At the end of last year, officials from the Kenya National Highways Authority (Kenha) came and told them to stop burning bricks on the roadside, Ms Nyandiko said. The officials, she added, were met with hostility.
“Young people who work at the sites as casuals felt targeted by the directive. They became violent and pelted the officials with stones and chased them away. It became so bad that the police had to come to their rescue,” she said.
A fortnight earlier, Mr Obwoge said, Kenha officials had spoken with the brick makers and gave them a two-week notice for all bricks to be removed.
Mr Charles Njogu, a spokesman for Kenha, declined to comment on the claimed notices and harassment, but he said the brick makers should vacate road reserves.
“That’s not a question for debate. They have no business (setting up) businesses at the road reserve,” he said.
Not an obstacle
Some drivers who use the Kisii-Nyamira route said the bricks are not an obstacle to motorists.
“I’ve used that road for a long time and we hardly experience accidents as a result of the bricks,” said Mr Hesborn Mayogi, a driver with the Marboro shuttle company.
“However, the trucks that ferry the bricks do obstruct us sometimes. The drivers park them in such a way that they eat into the highway’s space.
“If you are not careful enough when overtaking, you could crash.” BY DAILY NATION