• Banks of tourist site covered with filth, plastic waste from Nairobi, Kajiado and Kiambu
• Conservationists clean up the river, urge people to change lifestyles
The putrid heavily polluted River Athi is on its deathbed, the hippos have fled, tourists hold their noses and stay away.
Once the source of livelihood to millions of Kenyans, it stinks to high heaven. The situation is so bad that the Nations Environment and Rotary Club International have joined with other organisations to clean the river.
The resource that once was a tourist attraction, has become a no-go zone owing to the odour emanating from the water and wafting a kilometre away. It's the site of sewage of effluent dumping
Rotary Club Thika Road president Monica Wambui, who spoke during the launch of the clean-up at the Fourteen Falls Tourist Resort, termed the state of the river a "disaster" that needed urgent efforts from the state and private entities.
She said programmes "to give the vital lifeline a breath of life" must be embarked on, saying most of the filth comes from Nairobi and a few urban centres in Kajiado and Kiambu counties.
The Adopt a River initiative will be a joint venture between Kiambu county, Be The Inspiration organisation, schools, colleges and the Kenya Wildlife Service.
A long stretch of the river has been covered by hyacinth, while the repulsive smell emanates from the falls where water has turned green with effluent.
The river banks are littered with tonnes of plastic waste and plastic bags the groups started extracting and carting away to a dumpsite.
Resident Janet Kabeberi, a Rotarian and the environment chair for District 9012, said the river can cause serious health problems for lower riparian users and aquatic life.
“Kenyans living downstream and using the water for domestic and irrigation purposes are exposed to grave health risks. Due to the heavy pollution and spreading hyacinth, aquatic life is at peril. Hippos have already migrated away," she said.
Kabeberi also said residents should convert the hyacinth into baskets, mats or fertiliser.
Thika East deputy county commissioner Thomas ole Sankei said the river is choking with waste generated by human beings.
“People must be ready to change their behaviours and take charge of conserving the environment. If we stop directing raw sewage and industrial effluents into the rivers, we shall live in a good and healthy environment,” Sankei said.
Jackline Waithera, director of Gorgeous Beauty College which took part in the cleanup, said the once attractive tourist site has become an eyesore scaring away tourists. She called on the Environment minister to intervene.
MCA Joachim Njama said the county government is losing revenue whereas residents who depended on the river for a living were out of work.
Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu said he was committed to ensure the Fourteen Falls Tourist Resort is restored to its former glory.