Nairobians no longer enjoy free drinking water they could access any time of the day or night in the CBD.
The tap water project failed after street families started using it to bathe and wash their clothes.
The water was meant for drinking. It was sponsored by non-governmental organisations and launched during Kidero's regime.
Nairobi City Water and Sewage Company acting managing director Nahashon Muguna said in a phone interview that a lot of water was wasted resulting in disconnection.
“A lot of street families, including adults who were the majority, have been making a lot of pedestrians uncomfortable. They even had no shame taking baths in broad daylight. They even used to do their laundry there, resulting in wastage of water,” Muguna said.
The sponsors decided to take down the project after receiving many complaints from business communities that street families were chasing away their potential customers. They told the county government to remove them because of that problem.
There were also complaints that the taps were being stolen and some vandalised by pedestrians, leaving the water running with no one to fix them.
Some sinks now have garbage all over.
Johnson Mbugua, a newspaper vendor, said he was hoping the county government would step in and look for a better solution to revive the project.
“I was depending on the tap water, especially during hot seasons. My job never allows me to randomly move from one place to another. Since its disconnection, I either have to buy water or ask from restaurants,” he said.
Kevin Shikuku, a watchman at IPS Building along Kimathi Street, narrated how street families used to scare away customers whenever they took baths near flower beds.
"Street people used to bring their dirty clothes, wash them from the sinks then carelessly hang them on the grills. Even if they are chased away by the county askaris, they come back."
"After they are done washing, they connect a pipe that would reach the flower beds and bath from there as they wait for their clothes to dry up. They did not care," Shikuku said.
Nairobi Water executive Larry Wambua told the Star there are no plans to remove the taps.
“We might have other sponsors who might still want to bring the project back to life. If it happens, we, as the county government, shall only rehabilitate them,” he said.
