• Town suffers meat shorage since Monday.
• Governor Kimemia said he will appeal to Nema to withdraw closure notice and give three months to find lasting solution.
Ol Kalou slaughterhouse has been closed by Nema because it releases blood and other waste directly into Kiogoro stream.
Furious butchers closed their shops to protest the closure and said there is no sewerage system. Everybody, including the hospital, dumps their waste into nearby streams, they said.
The town has been suffering from a meat shortage since Monday.
On Wednesday last week, Nema issued a 14-day notice of closure of the abattoir which is run by the county, saying it was illegally discharging waste and polluting the river.
It told butchers to use a private abattoir, which they said is too costly.
More than 200 meat traders at Ol Kalou town assembled at the slaughterhouse on Monday, marched to the governor’s office to meet Nyandarua Governor Francis Kimemia.
They accused the environmental authority of economic sabotage and being used as a political tool by ‘interested parties’, claiming only the public slaughterhouse and a few landlords were targeted.
The Ol Kalou town meat industry directly employs 500 to 700 people.
James Ng’ang’a, chairperson of Ol Kalou Butchers Sacco and owner of the famous Kirinyaga Digital Butchery, said butchers are being persecuted for something that's not their fault.
He said Ol Kalou slaughterhouse has been in operation for 60 years and the issue of river pollution has never been raised.
He said they told Nema there are other major polluters but said, "We were told you don’t kill all the children at ago.”
Ng’ang’a accused Nema of being used by the private slaughterhouse owner to persecute the butchers.
“We are not going to operate at a loss. We shall close our businesses until the governor intervenes, " he said.
Peter Thinji, the Ol Kalou Business Association chairperson and Ol Kalou Butchers Sacco secretary, said it is not the butchers' responsibility to build slaughterhouses since they pay tax.
He said Ol Kalou town is between Kiogoro and Kaimbaga streams and since there is no sewerage system, all the waste is drained into to the two streams.
“Even J.M. Memorial Hospital’s waste is drained into the rivers," he said
He said all the waste, including raw sewage, from Vatican, Bankers and Bahati Estates and Ol Kalou CBD drains into to Kiogoro stream, while Jerusalem, Jua Kali, Site, Huruma, Mahinga and J.M. Hospital direct their waste to Kaimbaga stream.
Even J.M. Memorial Hospital’s waste is drained into the rivers.Peter Thinji, Ol Kalou Business Association chairperson
“We want to tell Nema to stop being partisan. If they must close, let them close the whole town, “he said
Nyandarua Governor Francis Kimemia said the county will appeal to the authority to withdraw the closure notice and allow three months to find a lasting solution. He said this will provide time to ensure good hygiene, no pollution and the lives of Nyandarua residents are not put at risk.
He said a committee of the county government, county assembly, the national government and NEMA will be formed to seek a solution so "we don’t play politics with the health of our people. Their health comes first.”
Kimemia said he has no problem with the private slaughterhouse if it is the best option and the county can lease it and ensure the butchers are charged the amount they pay at the government facility.
(Edited by V. Graham)