Water Shortage Persists in Kitengela Despite Government Promises

Residents of Kitengela continue to face severe water shortages, relying on private vendors and boreholes despite repeated government pledges and a presidential directive issued six years ago.

Each morning, Newton Angufa sets out before sunrise, pushing a handcart filled with jerrycans of salty water along the Namanga Road. For the past five years, he has made a living selling water sourced from private boreholes to homes and businesses across the township. 

“It is tough but it pays,” he says, describing a trade that has become essential to daily life in the absence of reliable public supply.

Kitengela’s water crisis predates the 2010 constitutional reforms, but devolution has done little to improve the situation. In 2019, then-President Uhuru Kenyatta directed the Ministry of Water and Kajiado County to connect Kitengela to a Nairobi Water and Sewerage Company pipeline and establish eight public kiosks offering affordable water. 

Only five kiosks were built, and by 2022, just three had operated briefly before falling out of use. Residents allege the failure was due in part to interference by water cartels seeking to protect their profits.

Site inspections have revealed the scale of the neglect. Kiosks intended to serve thousands now stand idle, some locked, others overtaken by informal structures. One near the police station has been encroached upon, while another beside the sub-county hospital remains unused and covered in dust. 

Several kiosks were temporarily converted into market stalls before being shut down following public complaints. With limited public supply, residents depend on private sources at high cost. Salty water, the most common option, sells for Sh20 to Sh30 per 20-litre jerrycan. 

Fresh water, typically trucked in from Nairobi, costs between Sh30 and Sh50. For many households, these prices are unsustainable, yet the issue continues to feature in political campaigns without meaningful progress.

During the 2024 Madaraka Day celebrations, Governor Joseph ole Lenku announced that millions of litres of water had been secured from Nairobi Water for Kitengela and Ong’ata Rongai. However, many residents remain doubtful. 

“We hear leaders saying Kitengela has water. That’s not true, we are suffering,” said resident Alfayo Onchiri.

Institutional challenges have also delayed possible solutions. In 2022, an effort by the county government to take over a pipeline operated by the Export Processing Zone Authority was unsuccessful, leaving the infrastructure largely unused. 

More recently, County Water Executive Michael Semera announced plans to build a new pipeline from Mlolongo, expected to deliver up to two million litres of water per day. No timeline has been shared, and residents remain cautious.

Rising population and environmental pressures continue to worsen the crisis. A 2019 Ministry of Water survey estimated Kitengela’s population at 500,000, with a daily water demand of 30,000 cubic metres. The current population is believed to be nearly double, yet existing private boreholes supply only around 5,000 cubic metres per day.