Eastleigh's festive feast choked by filth: Governor Sakaja, time to clean up your act

Eastleigh, a vibrant pulse of commerce known for its busy and bubbly streets and a shoppers haven, finds itself drowning in a tide of its own waste. General Waruinge Road, where life spills from Pumwani Maternity Hospital, is choked by garbage dumped on the roadside, snarling traffic into an angry knot. Jam Street, traumatised by a recent sewage burst, remains a festering wound. And the arteries of 8th and 9th Streets have been rendered impassable by the stench and squalor.

This, City Hall, is not the tableau of a thriving district preparing for the festive season. This is a desperate cry for help, a plea to Governor Sakaja, the man who promised to reclaim the city from the jaws of chaos. Your vision of a sparkling Nairobi cannot exist with Eastleigh drowning in its own filth.

Garbage collection, not rocket science, is a fundamental duty of your administration. Yet, Eastleigh residents wake up to a daily nightmare. Their children play amidst the rotting mounds, their lungs choked by the miasma of neglect. The stench hangs heavy, a constant reminder of a broken covenant between the governed and the governors.

Traders and buyers going onn with their day to day activity in Gikomba market (Photo: Amin Abdullahi)

Governor Sakaja, your crackdown on hawkers and boda bodas, however necessary, rings hollow when paired with a city drowning in its own waste. Clean streets are not a luxury, they are a right. They are the backbone of a healthy society, the foundation upon which commerce thrives. Eastleigh's traders, struggling to attract festive cheer, find themselves battling not just competition, but the very environment you swore to improve.

A dirty Nairobi River snaking it's way through Gikomba Market. (Photo: Amin Abdullahi)

Weary eyes see trucks of promises rumble past, delivering speeches but not shovels. The stench grows bolder, a mocking chorus to your pledge of cleanliness. Where are the sanitation teams, the garbage trucks, the commitment to basic hygiene?

A garbage filled road (Photo: Amin Abdullahi)

The clock is ticking, Governor Sakaja. The festive garlands cannot mask the festering wounds beneath. Clean up your act, clean up Eastleigh, clean up Nairobi. Let the garbage trucks, not empty promises, pave the way for a new year, a new hope, a city that lives up to its own potential.

A section of Nairobi River chocking in filth. (Photo: Amin Abdullahi)

This commentary isn't just a call to action for Governor Sakaja, it's a platform for amplifying the voices of Eastleigh residents. Share it, spread the word, let the stench of neglect reach every corner of City Hall. This festive season, let's gift Eastleigh the one thing it truly desires: a city free from the suffocating grip of its own waste.