A plan by the Machakos County government under Governor Wavinya Ndeti to convert a 90-year-old dam in Tala Township into a matatu terminus has triggered strong opposition from residents and traders.
Critics warn that draining Tala Dam in Matungulu Sub-county would worsen water shortages in the semi-arid area and are urging the county to prioritise cleaning and rehabilitating the heavily polluted reservoir instead.
“We rely on Tala Dam during drought because the township receives little rainfall. It is our main water source and helps recharge shallow wells and boreholes. No one should be thinking of draining it,” said James Mwovi.
Mr Mwovi, chairman of the Kwa Mating’i Farmers’ Cooperative Society, is among hundreds of residents and community leaders opposing the plan.
The Nation has established that the proposal is part of a broader strategy by Ms Ndeti’s administration to streamline and modernise the fast-growing township.
Kangundo–Tala Municipality Manager Justus Kiteng’u and Tala MCA Jackson Ndaka said the plan includes relocating the main bus park from its current privately owned site.
However, traders and matatu operators have threatened legal action, warning that the move would disrupt businesses.
By Wednesday, they had collected 800 signatures to formally challenge the proposal.
A woman washes her clothes near Tala Dam
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
“Relocating the Tala bus park will inconvenience traders and travellers. Passengers will be forced to walk long distances to the proposed Tala Dam terminus, exposing them to security risks,” said Priscillar Kioko, a Tala-based lawyer.
A public participation forum scheduled for Thursday appeared to underline the county government’s resolve to proceed with the project. In a notice, Mr Ndaka said the forum would be held at the Silanga livestock yard on January 22, 2026, from 10am, to collect views on draining Tala Dam and constructing a major matatu stage to spur development and job creation.
“We postponed the exercise after learning that technical officials from the Water Resources Authority (WRA), who were to lead the process, would be engaged elsewhere,” Mr Ndaka told Nation. The controversy has exposed broader infrastructure gaps in Tala Township, including the lack of sewerage and solid waste management systems.
“Tala Dam has been heavily contaminated over the past three years. The county government has largely looked the other way as unscrupulous residents channel raw effluent into the dam. What was once a source of clean water and fish is now an environmental eyesore,” said resident Charles Kyalo.
A section of Tala Dam in Machakos County on January 21, 2026. A plan mooted by Machakos County government to drain the 90-year-old dam to create room for a bus park has sparked widespread condemnation.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
Bernard Kilongosi, a businessman whose grandfather was among those who donated the three acres on which the dam sits, said pollution had rendered the surrounding land unusable.
The Tala Village Inn proprietor recalled swimming in the dam as a child, but said contamination had robbed the community of a key recreational and water resource.
“Today, I have to take my grandchildren to hotel swimming pools, where a session costs Sh500. It is painful,” he said.
Mr Kilongosi has joined calls for the dam’s rehabilitation, urging the county government to honour the legacy of elders who donated land and helped establish the reservoir. “In its current state, Tala Dam is a cesspool. We know some people discharge raw sewage into it. WRA officials have taken water samples for testing, and the results will be made public,” said Mr Kiteng’u.
Mr Kiteng’u and Mr Ndaka said they hoped the agency would declare the dam a health hazard, arguing that its location now lies in the path of Tala’s expansion.
“Until Tala Dam is flattened, Tala Township will stagnate,” Mr Ndaka said. However, Kioko Luka, a former chairman of the Machakos County Public Service Board, urged the county to reconsider and instead adopt a comprehensive master plan aligned with the town’s rapid growth.
“We need a bus park and a proper open-air market with sheds for small-scale traders. Through Tala Municipality, the county should consider compulsory acquisition of undeveloped land around the township to develop these facilities,” he said.
