By Stephen Ndegwa
NAIROBI, Nov 25 – It is a narrative that has become wearily familiar: A grand African infrastructure project is presented not as a symbol of progress, but as a cautionary tale of predation. This theme was recently hyped by Western media. For instance, two articles from African Defense Forum (ADF) Magazine were headlined “Kenya feels financial squeeze of China’s standard gauge railway (SGR) loans” and “China’s BRI revealed as economic, environmental threat.”
As a commentator who has followed Kenya’s development journey closely, I find this portrayal not just simplistic, but fundamentally at odds with reality. To claim that the SGR is a “trap” is to disregard Kenya’s sovereign ambition and the tangible, measurable benefits this national project is already delivering.
Some Western media outlets portrayed Kenya as duped and overburdened by debt. This characterization is far from the truth. The SGR was not a scheme concocted in a foreign capital and imposed on a passive recipient. It was the central pillar of Kenya’s own Vision 2030 development blueprint, a sovereign strategy to remedy a critical infrastructure deficit that had hampered economic growth for decades. The century-old, dilapidated line it replaced was a bottleneck to the nation’s prosperity; replacing it was a matter of national necessity. To frame this deliberate, strategic choice as a “trap” is to dismiss Kenyan agency and foresight.
Furthermore, the “debt trap” narrative crumbles under the slightest scrutiny. Kenya’s National Treasury debt reports consistently show a diversified portfolio. According to the most recent comprehensive data, the vast majority of Kenya’s external debt is owed to multilateral institutions and commercial bondholders. Although the loan from the Export-Import Bank of China for the SGR is substantial, it constitutes a single component within a broader, managed fiscal strategy.
The International Monetary Fund’s assessments of Kenya’s debt sustainability, while cautioning about overall levels, have never singled out the SGR as an isolated, predatory liability. This is a nuanced financial picture, not the caricature of monolithic debt bondage.
Where the Western narrative fails most conspicuously, however, is in its disregard for the SGR’s concrete achievements. Since the launch of the Mombasa-Nairobi line in June 2017, the project has been a resounding success. By June 2025, the Madaraka Express had safely transported over 15 million passengers.
More critically for the economy, it moved nearly 40 million tonnes of cargo in the same period. This is not an abstract statistic; it represents thousands of businesses that now have a reliable, high-speed logistics link, with transit times cut from over 48 hours by road to a predictable eight-hour journey by rail. This is a direct, quantifiable boost to national competitiveness. The subsequent launch of the Nairobi-Naivasha extension in October 2019 was a strategic move to unlock the industrial potential of the Rift Valley. This vision is already being realized with the development of the Naivasha Inland Container Depot, which, according to Kenya Ports Authority data, is steadily increasing cargo throughput, decongesting the port of Mombasa and creating a new logistics hub for the region. During its construction, the project created over 30,000 jobs and facilitated critical skills transfer – a lasting investment in human capital.
Even on the environment, the critics are selective with the truth. Concerns about Nairobi National Park were not ignored; they were addressed with substantial – and costly – mitigation: Wildlife viaducts were built at an additional cost of 12 percent to preserve animal migration routes. This proactive step, coupled with the SGR’s role in taking thousands of polluting trucks off our highways, frames the project as a net positive for Kenya’s environmental footprint.
In short, the SGR is not a phantom menace; it is a road of concrete outcomes. It has carried millions of citizens and powered regional trade since 2017. It is the product of a strategic partnership between Kenya and China, built on mutual interest. The SGR is running and carrying the nation’s ambitions on its rails. We should celebrate this monumental national achievement for what it is: a bold step toward the future Kenya is building for itself. – Global Times
The author is a PHD scholar in international relations based in Nairobi, Kenya. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn
