The Ministry of Water and Sanitation has started a nationwide crackdown on illegal connections starting with Nairobi.
Principal Secretary Paul Kiprono says the country is losing close to Sh10 billion due to illegal connections.
"The government has invested close to Sh1 trillion in water infrastructure but we are losing close to Sh10 billion on non-revenue water," he said.
Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja warned the water cartels that the government was coming for them.
“Today we have released water police who are our there to disconnect illegal water connections. The national government has started with Nairobi,” he said.
The PS said the crackdown will be on Thursday in Embakasi, Kariobangi, and Kibira in Nairobi.
It will then be cascaded to all parts of the country.
Rono said out of the 560,000 cubic meters supplied to Nairobi, 300, 000 cubic meters are lost.
The PS said water resources infrastructure should be managed well if the country is to meet some of the targets under sustainable development goals.
These include those touching on poverty, hunger, gender, climate change, and inequality.
Rono said the volume of water the country gets each year is 455 cubic meters each year but half of it is not accounted for.
He said some of the challenges include old pipes.
"There is the illegal connection across the country," he said.
The PS said the recently launched police unit to guard water infrastructure, will help the ministry during the crackdown.
He warned those doing illegal connections saying they will be met by the full force of the law.
The PS at the same time urged those who have encroached on riparian areas to move before the law catches up with them.
