Kakamega water firm to reclaim grabbed sewage land

The Kakamega County Water and Sanitation Company is working to reclaim sewer land that has been grabbed by private developers.

Company CEO Abdi Kadiri said the grabbing of the land has rendered the Nabongo sewer ponds dysfunctional.

Kadiri said the firm was in the process of reclaiming the land and rehabilitating the sewer ponds to effectively serve the Kakamega town’s growing population.

“There are people claiming to have title deeds for the land but we don’t know who allocated them. We want to engage the National Land Commission to revoke those titles so the land can be restored to its original use,” Kadiri said.

He added, “The governor envisages Kakamega town becoming a city in the near future and you cannot have a city without a proper sewer system. The existing sewer system only covers 10 per cent of the municipality and that is too little."

He spoke during an interview in his office on Friday.

Those occupying the land in question are influential businessmen and some churches.

At some point, the grabbers had filled the lagoons with soil and converted them into planting fields.

They diverted the sludge to the nearby stream through a trench. They were forcefully removed by the county government in 2019 and the ponds scooped. The lagoons continue to receive sludge but no treatment takes place.

In August 2019, the county National Environment Management Authority officials arrested then company CEO Fred Atwa over the draining of human waste into a river near the lagoons.

Nema said the act amounted to endangering the lives of residents who use water from the river for domestic purposes.

The latest efforts to have the Nabongo sewer lagoons reclaimed and rehabilitated are part of a drive to ready the town for city status.

Governor Wycliffe Oparanya had promised two years ago that Kakamega town which was gazetted as the Western provincial headquarters in 1920 will become a city by 2022.

Availability of sewer services and population are key factors for consideration before a municipality is upgraded to a city.

The Cities and Urban Areas Act requires a municipality to have at least 250,000 people to qualify for city status. Kakamega county has already expanded its boundaries to cover 186 square kilometers from 49 square kilometers.

Kadiri said the company, together with the county government and Lake Victoria North Water Services Board were also exploring the revival of the stalled Maraba sewer project.

The project stalled after the community protested over lack of involvement.

They moved to court and the court ruled in their favour, saying the land be restored to its original status.

But Kadiri said that the company wants to engage the community afresh with the intention of reviving the project.

“We have had a meeting with the governor and the board and agreed to engage the community on the matter. The project is important for the growth of the town. We can get money for the project,” Kadiri said.

He said residents could have been incited to reject the project, adding that 80 per cent of water that is consumed by households ends up in the sewer and must be planned for.

Most residents within the municipality rely on septic tanks to collect solid and liquid waste from their premises.