The county government of Bomet is in the eye of a storm with accusations it has for a week been discharging raw sewage to the Nyangores River.
The river which runs through the outskirts of Bomet town centre is the main source of water for domestic use by the residents in an urban setup faced with a rapidly rising population.
Nyangores River, whose source is the Mau Forest complex, is a major tributary of the Mara River which empties its water to Lake Victoria, a regional water source that in turn feeds the River Nile.
The Bomet Water and Sanitation Company (Bomwasco), which is fully owned by the county government of Bomet, is responsible for cleanliness in the town, supply of water, installation and maintenance of the sewerage system.
Residents of Bomet County speak to journalists at Nyangores River where raw sewer is discharged to the water resource on September 17, 2026.
Photo credit: Vitalis Kimutai | Nation Media Group
But the water company now stands accused of discharging raw waste to the river after a sewer line burst next to the 220 Affordable Housing Units commissioned by President William Ruto on Wednesday last week.
The discharge point is a short distance from the Governor’s office, Bomet University, St Michael’s Primary School, St Michael’s Secondary School, and at the doorstep of the Affordable Housing Units (but not linked to the new housing unit’s sewer line).
A trench has been dug from the broken sewer line running along the fence of the Affordable Housing units and directly leading to the river some 200 metres away.
Another burst sewer line next to Ola petrol station at the town centre has not been repaired for almost two years despite public outcry, while raw sewer is discharged to storm water drainages in three key points in the town.
Lack of connection of housing units to main sewer lines has led to real estate developers releasing waste to the open while others use exhausters to empty the waste in pit latrines septic tanks.
“We are calling for an immediate action by the county government of Bomet to end the discharge of raw sewage to Nyangores River that is the main source of water to the town residents and thousands of families downstream,” Ruth Kwamboka Zico, the president of the Bomet University students’ association.
“At least 70 per cent of the Bomet University students, whose population stands at 12,106, live downstream and draw raw water from the river which is now being openly polluted by a government that should be protecting the resource,” Ms Zico said.
“Bomet town has several burst sewer lines that the county government has not been interested in repairing, in what is expected to get worse with the expected El Nino rains in a few weeks time,” Ms Zico said.
Bomet University students’ president, Ms Ruth Zico, speaks to journalists next to the Bomet Affordable Housing unit on September 17, 2027.
Photo credit: Vitalis Kimutai | Nation Media Group
Mr Robinson Kigen, a resident, said the residents of Bomet town and those dependent on Nyangores River and the Mara River risked contracting water borne diseases including cholera, dysentery, amebiasis and typhoid.
“That a county government, whose duty is to provide clean drinking water to residents, protect the people from air and water pollution, has abdicated its duty and dug trenches to empty the sludge to the river is criminal in itself and quite devastating to the residents” Mr Kigen said.
Mr Kigen said Governor Hillary Barchok’s administration had failed the residents, exposed them to the risk of contracting diseases, and had set a bad example, with aquatic lives including fish running the risk of poisoning.
“The burst sewer lines came a day after the county government hosted the 15th Mara Day celebrations, a conservation event annually celebrated rotationally between Kenya and Tanzania. The delegates were assured by the county government of Bomet that it would lead to protection of the rivers feeding the Mara river and subsequently Lake Victoria,” Mr Kigen said.
Robinson Kigen, a resident of Bomet County, shows raw sewage which is being discharged to Nyangores River in this picture taken on September 17, 2026.
Photo credit: Vitalis Kimutai | Nation Media Group
Tens of thousands of wildlife in the Maasai Mara Game Reserve in Kenya and Serengeti National Park in Tanzania depend on the Mara River for water. But the water in the river is now polluted posing a risk to families, livestock and wildlife downstream.
Bomet town has for the last seven years been faced with acute water shortages with the residents dependent on Nyangores River and other nearby streams for the precious commodity.
Mr Kipngetich Towett, the acting Managing Director for Bomwasco, confirmed that the town was experiencing burst sewer lines and urged residents to be patient as the company was addressing the issue.
“We have taken up the matter and we are constructing new manholes that would redirect the waste to the main sewer line as a permanent solution to the problem. It will take a few days for the problem to be completely sorted out” Mr Towett said.
He said the county will in the interim use exhausters to suck and transport the liquid waste to the main sewage treatment plant next to Bomet University.
Cholera outbreak was reported in Bomet in 2019, 2022, 2023 with several people being admitted in hospital after taking contaminated water from the local rivers.
Bomet town has faced water shortages for the last seven years due to inability by Bomwasco to supply the commodity. It has led to vendors doing brisk business supplying raw water from the local rivers to the residents.
