Makutano men, women tussle for right to defecate in area bushes
The bushes in Makutano town where male and female traders are tussling on who got exclusive rights to use as defecation site.
Female traders in Makutano market, which lies on the borders of Embu, Kirinyaga and Murang'a counties, have accused warped-minded males of preying on them in the bush as they answer the call of nature.
Because there are no public toilets in the area – with available privately owned ones charging a fee or denying them access – women resort to helping themselves in the nearby bush.
"But there are idle men who report to these bushes not to do anything else but hide there to peep at us as we go about our business. We want them warned that we are planning to deal with them," said trader Irene Wakuthie.
The area’s open-air markets bring together traders in horticulture, general merchandise and hardware, and eatery and kiosk owners.
The markets also have commercial sex workers, who roam around scouting for clients and when the urge to relieve themselves hits, the bush comes in handy.
As a result, the bush in Kirinyaga County is full of human waste, tissue paper, and used sanitary towels and condoms.
Traders told Nation.Africa that the bush is risky during rainy seasons as the waste exposes them to cholera.
"Even during dry seasons ... winds blow dust that is full of dry human waste. Sanitation around here is wanting and we do not know who should address our plight as the boundaries are shared," said tomato dealer Martin Njeru.
But some men said "no one can lay claim to the right to use the bushes because they are privately owned".
The site in Makutano town where male and female traders are tussling on who got exclusive rights to use as defecation site.
Mr Francis Mwongera said people using "the bushes to relieve themselves are criminals who are supposed to be arrested and charged under the Public Health Act relating to sanitation".
He said one gender of criminals should not seek an exclusive right to relieve themselves in the bush.
Instead, he said, they should lobby for public toilets. “These women want to make others look bad even when it is clear none of them should be in those bushes unless they are digging or clearing them," he said.
Some men use the bush as toilets and others to smoke bhang, he said. “Perhaps when [male and female] criminals meet in those bushes, the females feel they are more entitled to degrade our environment, which should not be the case".
Last week, Mbeere South sub-county police boss Inviolata Lumati said a multi-agency team comprising enforcement departments would be established to deal with criminals.
The town has gambling dens, fuel syphoning cartels, brothels, bhang peddlers, immigrant traffickers and street gangs.
To police the area effectively, Ms Lumati said, security agents from Murang'a, Embu, Machakos and Kirinyaga must do it as a united front.
