Middle class, industries to blame for Nairobi River pollution, not slums- CS Duale

Environment Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale has dismissed the widespread belief that informal settlements are to blame for the degradation of rivers.

While answering questions before the National Assembly on Wednesday, Duale pointed fingers at middle-class households, industries, and large companies as the primary polluters of the Nairobi River.

He argued that the waste produced by informal settlements is minimal due to their limited resources, shifting the blame to more affluent communities and industrial entities.

“The story in town is that informal settlements are polluting the Nairobi River. That is a fallacy. It's less than one per cent. They even don't have garbage. They have nothing to throw. What they eat is very little. The garbage comes from the middle class,” Duale said.

He further revealed that the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) has mapped out 145 industries, factories, slaughterhouses, and apartment complexes that discharge untreated waste directly into the river.

“The biggest polluters of Nairobi River — and NEMA has mapped out 145 industries, factories, slaughterhouses, apartments — are those who discharge their effluent into Nairobi River," he said.

In addition to industries, Duale accused Nairobi Water and Sewerage Company and Athi Water and Sewerage Company of contributing significantly to the pollution by allowing raw sewage to leak into the river.

“The greatest polluters are Nairobi Water and Sewerage Company and Athi Water and Sewerage Company. Their manholes discharge raw sewage into the Nairobi River. In fact, we don’t have a river, we have sewage,” Duale said.

The CS also highlighted the issue of illegal dumpsites along the riverbanks, disclosing that thousands of such sites exist along the 47-kilometre stretch from Kikuyu to Thwake Dam in Makueni. He said trucks regularly offload waste into the river, exacerbating the pollution.

"On Sunday, trucks were in Mukuru Kwa Njenga carrying garbage, discharging it into the river. And I have told the Governor of Nairobi, that he must remove dumpsites along the Nairobi River. And we are going to call to order the companies he has contracted to carry garbage and the private ones. We are going to sit down with them,” Duale said, referencing his discussions with Governor Johnson Sakaja.

Duale called for stricter enforcement of environmental laws and held various agencies responsible for their failures in managing waste. He said he has issued a direct order to NEMA’s Director-General, Mamo Mamo, to ensure that the law is enforced.

“I have directed the NEMA Director-General that he must enforce the laws passed by this House. He has no choice. Mamo must enforce,” Duale said.