I walk around the busy Juja market on a fine Saturday midmorning. Trying to get a glimpse of fresh vegetables for the week. A woman with her huge heap of kales, to a young man with a fruit stand full of customers trying to pick what they perceive as the best mangos or avocadoes are the first to see on the open market gates. My attention gets diverted by a man selling tomatoes and a woman trying to bargain the price of a bag full of them and all that hits me is how that man will be rolling in cash at the end of the day.
I take a drive home after shopping and in the silence of my car I think about the town, Juja.
Juja town is just an hour away from Kenya’s capital Nairobi on the Thika super highway and a 26 minutes’ drive from Thika Town. It’s in Kiambu constituency, famously known to host Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology main campus. This is a plus for most business men/women around, students provide a good market for their businesses which also includes students from Zetech University and NIBS collage come here due to the affordable array of housing. I see them as security, countless of times have I gotten home late and still see a group of youngsters walking around the allies. When I think about it, it explains the towering buildings being developed to accommodate the ever growing population for both students and young youths starting out their lives in the town.
I have a descriptive neighbor who owns a shop around my area of residence who has the 411 about the area from certain sources. I’m sure you have one of those, be it the mama mboga to your late night nduthi guy (Motorbike rider). Well he talked about the expansion of the roads from Juja town all the way to Juja farm. He seemed excited about the venture and saw an opportunity to set a business along the road. The old timer has a knack for business as he has stated countless times before, while also mentioning how easy it is for him to get to various areas without him going to Nairobi or Thika town to connect. Via the Northern bypass he can get to visit some of his relatives in Limuru. I have to admit for me this is also a huge plus as I go to work via the eastern by pass that links Thika road to Mombasa road.
I like the fact that I can also do my non- perishable shopping in a supermarket which is in Juja City mall. For the bulk buyers, like myself, after the end month pay. The mall hosts Tuskys supermarket which is just along the exit on entry to Juja Town. Which has various shops too. If you like variety well there is the Spur Mall still on the highway at Kimbo. For the family’s, there are fun activities on the malls for those planned Saturdays.
A friend of mine came to visit one weekend. He had this perception of the ‘ushago’ feels the deeply rooted ones to his dismay, it’s an upcoming town right on the highway. He bought a plot of land recently via Nulands properties, he sees himself with a flat in the area for his retirement years. A venture even I admit to be lucrative due to the progressive development in the area. As I pass the various homes I truly see development and a thriving area for many.
