City Hall blamed after rains cause destruction

Workers removes remains from the front of a residential house in Livingston Chalbi drive where houses were flooded with water yesterday. Area MP Beatrice Elachi visited the area on Monday, March 25,2024. [Samson Wire, Standard]

Heavy rains pounded Nairobi on Sunday night, leaving a trail of destruction.

Roads were blocked, houses submerged in water and many businesses interrupted. Transport was Monday morning temporarily affected on the Nairobi Expressway and Enterprise Road due to floods. Motorists were trapped in traffic jams on Lunga Lunga Road, Peponi Road, Baricho Road and Jogoo Road, among others.

A police officer identified as David Chesire lost his life while trying to save the lives of at least four people in Kamkunji.

Other affected areas were Kangemi, Mukuru kwa Reuben and Mukuru kwa Njenga, Kware, Viwandani, Kayole and Njiru.

Along Chalbi Drive in Lavington, residents were marooned in their homes as floodwater poured in, causing significant damages.

Dagoretti North MP Beatrice Elachi who visited the area blamed illegal buildings constructed along riparian land.

"There is a neighbour who was given approval to build concrete on top of a whole line that carries water from the other side to the river. You cannot control water, it is natural. If you block it, it will find its own way and that's what happened last night," she said.

The floods also hit Karatasi Products Ltd in Industrial Area, causing losses. Vincent Mbalu, the company manager, blamed individuals who are encroaching on riparian land along the Ngong River.

He accused the Nairobi City County of failure to keep waterways clear despite having raised concerns with the authorities.

"There are individuals who have tried to reclaim land from the river. The soil and whatever they have put on the river bank is also blocking water." [Emmanuel Kipchumba]