President Uhuru Orders Crackdown on Companies Polluting River Athi

President Kenyatta has ordered a crackdown on companies discharging effluent into River Athi. 

Kenyatta, who spoke during an inspection of the expansive Thwake Dam in Makueni on Friday, directed the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) to take action against the polluters.

The president indicated that his administration is committed to fixing the sewerage systems around cities to help solve the issue of water pollution.

“We can only do that by protecting our environment through developing and ensuring our cities have proper sewerage systems so that waste is not dumped into our rivers, lakes, or seas,” said Kenyatta.

 “There are issues of environment pollution, we have tasked NEMA to deal with the matter.”

Twake Dam which is being constructed for Sh42 billion sits at the intersection of rivers Thwake and Athi. Kenyatta said the 80.5m high mega-dam sitting on 9,217 acres of land will be commissioned in June 2022.

When complete, the reservoir will supply treated water to over 1.3 million residents of Makueni, Machakos, and Kitui as well as the Konza Technopolis. It will also be utilized for hydroelectric generation and irrigation.

The Auditor-General recently issued a report claiming that the water flowing into the dam may be unsafe for human consumption as it will be fed by Athi River, which receives most of its water from the Nairobi River.

 “…Nairobi river is heavily polluted with heavy metal and the water is unfit for human consumption…”, the report reads in part.

It adds, “…there was no evidence of efforts by the implementing agency to mitigate against the risk and ensure the river is free from pollutants and fit for human consumption before the end of the expected completion of the program in November 2022.”