Stop disposal of waste into city rivers
A man walks on a sewer line on River Kiuu that passes in Kahawa West.
Daily Nation the other day had a very worrying feature article on how Kiuu River is being polluted in the Kahawa West area. Solid waste is being disposed in the river without any action being taken by the authorities.
It is the same story all over the Country where most counties have failed to adequately address the disposal of both solid and liquid waste.
President William Ruto appointed a commission that is supposed to address rivers pollution starting with the city of Nairobi last year. It is time it hit the ground running if the city is to safe Nairobi River, Ngong River, Kiuu and other rivers that mostly join the Athi River heading to the Indian ocean where marine life is under threat.
Other Counties too like Kisumu have the same challenge of raw sewage going directly in Lake Victoria. There is the sad story of Migingo Island.
The famous rock in Lake Victoria has a day population of over 2,000 people. It consists of fishermen, coxswains, touts, commercial sex workers, cooks, shopkeepers, fishmongers and Ugandan security forces among others.
In Migingo, the call of nature by these inhabitants happens directly into Lake Victoria. This increases especially at night.
The lake is the source of water for the island`s population. This exposes them to water borne diseases including cholera and other enteric diseases.
It is a disaster when this happens because health facilities are available only in the mainland. These examples of how water bodies in Kenya are being contaminated on the day to day basis is a wake- up call to the authorities to start seriously addressing this environmental disaster.
Rivers coming from up country like the Ngong River and others that join the Athi River are always clean from the source.
However, as they meander through the city slums like Kibra and the industrial area they become recipients of garbage, night soil because most pit latrines and bathrooms directly drain into the rivers. Enforcement of the environmental laws should start to take place.
As the government and the counties continue to strive to improve health facilities across the country, it should go hand in hand with clean environment . Natural water bodies properly protected would be a better source of drinking water and irrigation. It should therefore be very important to protect the natural water bodies through the protection of the environment.
- David M. Kigo, Nairobi
