By Alex Maina
When walking through different parts of Mwanzo Estate, one thing is hard to miss broken sewers. They sit open, leaking waste water into the roads and footpaths. Mwanzo, a busy estate filled with families and children, is now facing a quiet but dangerous crisis.
The sewers are not just an eyesore they are a health risk. With so many people living close together, it’s only a matter of time before diseases like cholera, typhoid, or skin infections start spreading. This is not just a guess it’s a real fear. One day passes, then two, then three… and still, no action is taken.
It’s hard to know whether this is because the person in charge is not receiving the reports, or whether it’s simply negligence. But one thing is clear: people don’t know where to report the issue, or what steps to take when they see sewage flowing into their streets. That lack of a clear reporting system is part of the bigger problem.
The same issue is being witnessed in LC Estate, a neighboring area to Mwanzo. With over 200 families living there many of them with young children, the threat is even more worrying. While parents are away at work during the day, they may not know what their children are doing. And children, with their natural spirit of curiosity, often end up playing near or with the open sewage water, unaware of the danger.
What does the law say?
According to the Constitution of Kenya 2010, the Fourth Schedule, Part 2, Paragraph 2 assigns sanitation services including sewerage to the county governments. That means it is the duty of the county government to repair and maintain working sewer systems in places like Mwanzo and LC. When that doesn’t happen, it is a failure of duty, a failure that puts lives at risk.
For a lasting solution, residents must be clearly shown where and how to report broken sewer lines. Information is power and that information must reach the people directly. Posters, community barazas, social media platforms, or even SMS alerts can make a big difference. People can only act when they know how. Public awareness campaigns should be introduced so that no one is left guessing when a sewer line breaks.
Every citizen deserves clean and safe surroundings. When the systems meant to protect public health fail then it’s a matter of time until the situation worsens to the extreme.
