Mombasa residents demand gov't fixes sewers as rain pounds

Locals and business persons at the Mwembe Kuku area in Mvita sub-county, Mombasa County, have urged the government to fix the sewerage system to curb disease outbreaks during the ongoing rainy season. 

Over 500 residents are facing a potential health crisis as raw sewage continues to flow outside their houses and businesses.

According to the locals, the heavy rainfall witnessed countrywide for the past three days has worsened the situation as the sewer is mixing with the rainwater.

The locals want the county government to install drainage systems in the Central Business District (CBD), as Mombasa is one of the counties that frequently experiences floods during heavy rains.

"We have been living with this pungent smell for more than three months now. This is a business zone and such eye-soring sights are costing our businesses," said Halima Abdi, who sells children’s clothes in the area. 

Halima further complained that the rains are making it impossible for them to access their businesses as they have to waddle through sewage-stricken water. 

Hussein Ibrahim added that walking along Biashara Street was impossible on Wednesday and Thursday after contaminated rainwater splashed along the street. 

"Nobody wanted to walk through the water puddles because they were mixed with sewage. We fear disease outbreaks, such as diarrhoea. We have eateries and residential homes within this area and we are wary of our health if this situation worsens," he lamented. 

Another resident, Omar Ismail, accused the county of doing so little to improve the situation.

Stagnant water at Mwembe Kuku in Mombasa. (Photo: Mishi Gongo)

"We plead with the concerned department to come to our rescue and expand these chambers," Omar pleaded. 

He claimed that the county directed landlords to construct chambers to accommodate their tenants' waste.

Mombasa Water Supply and Sanitation Company had earlier warned that some parts of the city lacked sewer networks, putting locals at risk of contracting waterborne diseases. 

The company highlighted Nyali, Likoni, and Kisauni sub-counties as areas where locals had resorted to using septic tanks as alternatives. 

Only the Mvita, Jomvu, and Changamwe sub-counties have sewer networks that were constructed during colonial times.

Early this week, the county was ramping up the construction of new drainage systems and unclogging of stormwater drainages' as the March, April, and May (MAM) heavy rains began. 

The County Executive Committee Member (CECM) for Transport and Infrastructure, Daniel Manyala, while supervising the ongoing works along Nyerere Avenue and Old Town, said that he learned a lot from last year's El Niño rains that wreaked havoc in the port city.

He added that the county has gone out of its way to prepare for any eventuality, as they continue to monitor weather patterns forecasted by the Kenya Meteorological Department, 

"We have mapped out all the black spots that usually flood during rainy seasons. We have initiated some small-scale construction works to ensure we solve the flooding problem with finality," Manyala assured. 

Manyala also assured that the construction and repair of horizontal drainage systems and sewers around the county were already underway. 

He tasked his officers with repairing chambers and septic tanks to ensure that waste does not flow freely in residential areas.