Residents if Kenol
township, Murang’a, face possible exposure to waterborne related diseases
after raw sewerage is left flowing from the high rise buildings.
The concerns have been raised over raw
sewerage flowing through the fast-growing market centre in Murang’a South Sub
county that drains into the nearby dams.
In the past three years,
the locals Kenol and Kagaa villages have braved bad odour have raised concerns
which have remained unattended by the authorities as the raw sewer flows from
hundreds of residential and business premises.
Kenol market is one of the
market centres in Murang’a county earmarked to get a sewerage project estimated
at Sh1.2 billion, that will be established in Delmonte plantations.
The affected residents
have traced the source of wastewater and established to be from business premises and residential that have been sneaked with pipes under the culverts.
They established that the
illegal drainage system the source of raw sewerage started after the contractor
completed working on a road funded by Nairobi Metropolitan
Improvement Programme in 2016.
Investigations by The Mountain Journal revealed that the raw sewerage is discharged through pumping into a
storm drainage system that ends up in the abandoned quarries and dams.
Led by Nyumba Kumi elders
Chairman Benson Ngige, the villagers have accused national environmental
management agency and Murang’a County Government of doing nothing to address
the health concern.
They recount how the raw sewerage is released
early in the morning and during the night that end up near the dams along the
Sagana- Kenol highway.
Ngige said the
environmental hapzard emerged after the road connecting the town was tarmacked
as rogue land owners connected pipes from their septic tanks into the storm
water drainage path.
Three weeks ago, the locals had an encounter with county
health and sanitation CEC Joseph Mbai as
they cleared thickets at the abandoned
Kenol livestock market that had been turned to a hide out for criminal gang.
A resident of Wanjiku
Kabena recounts her tribulations after her bore hole was contaminated after the
waste water was discharged from the buildings two kilometres from her residence
along Kenol- Sagana road.
“My tenants had to leave
after the waste water and rain water blocked entrance of my building in April
this year,” she said.
Ms Kabena demanded for
investigations how the plot owners have been able to manipulate the culverts
and insert their drainage pipes to help in the discharge.
Murang’a South Administrator James Githii confirmed
the issues saying it was being handled at the county headquarters.
“We are aware of the issue
and hope something is being done by the senior officials.
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