Work begins to turn Nyanza’s biggest dumpsite into beautiful park

A truck collects waste at the Kachok dumpsite. Governor Anyang Nyong'o plans to turn the site into a recreational park. [Collins Oduor, Standard]

Kachok dumpsite, Nyanza's biggest landfill, is in the process of being transformed into a recreational park.

According to Kisumu Governor Anyang Nyong'o, the rehabilitation of the dumpsite, which has been an eyesore and a health risk for many years, will cost the county government Sh130,000 million.

Heaps of garbage were yesterday being transported to a quarry in Kajulu on the outskirts of the town.

Prof Nyong'o and Kisumu City Manager Doris Ombara visited Kachok last week and said they were satisfied with ongoing work.

Indigenous trees

The governor said once the garbage was cleared, workers would start building the park.

Sources said indigenous trees would be planted as part of a beautification programme expected to turn the park into a picnic site.

Plans to relocate the dumpsite have hit a snag several times after court orders were secured to block them. The latest effort to move the garbage was blocked by residents led by Kisumu East MP Shakeel Shabbir.

Efforts to haul the waste out of the town were recently stopped by residents led by Mr Shabbir.

Yesterday, a Kisumu court gave Nyong'o a reprieve following an attempt by three Kajulu residents to temporarily block the exercise.

Justice Stephen Kibunjia declined to issue conservatory orders that had been sought by the petitioners.

The county government had already started the relocation of the dumpsite following the dismissal of an earlier case filed to halt the process.

The petitioners wanted the court to halt the process, arguing that it posed a grave health concern to residents.

They listed three the respondents as the county government, Ms Ombara, and a company that was awarded the tender to move the dumpsite.

They claimed that residents were not consulted before the county government settled on Kajulu as the new site for dumping the garbage.

Adverse effect

Moses Munango, a lawyer representing the petitioners, expressed concern that the garbage was already being removed and that any delay in court would have an adverse effect on the project.

During the tour of the dumpsite, MCAS led by Kondele ward's Joachim Omieno praised the governor's resolve to move the dumpsite.

''We have waited for over 10 years for the waste to be removed. This is a sign of better things to come," Omieno told a crowd at the site.

Nyong'o also launched several projects, including the Manyatta-Kaloleni estate roads built at a cost of Sh74 million.

The governor also visited Obinju, Joel Omino, and Kosao primary schools' bio centre projects funded by the Kisumu Urban Project with the help of the French Government.