In this weekly series on living in Nairobi, Marion Sitawa goes nose-first into Ruai, an area of the city that some people loathe because of its smell. Originally designed as the capital’s main repository for human waste, Ruai remained an isolated outpost for decades. Then came the few who decided they could stomach the smell. Today, the once-lonely area is filling up fast, with a surging population and rising property prices to match.
When you drive east out of Nairobi’s central business district, threading past Donholm, Kayole and Komarock, you begin to sense a change in atmosphere.
The congestion that defines the inner estates starts to thin, the crowded apartment blocks give way to bungalows, then to gated compounds, open patches of farmland, and finally to expanses of bare land that stretch onwards as if the city is losing its grip. This is where you encounter Ruai.
Yet for all its promise of space and cleaner air, Ruai also carries with it a different weight, one that no visitor can ignore: a smell that clings freely and settles on the roadside dust, an odour that has shaped the identity of this neighbourhood. It is the reek of Nairobi’s sewage.
In this picture taken on Monday, September 8, 2025, exhauster trucks offload human waste at the Nairobi Sewage Treatment Works in Ruai, where the city's liquid waste is received, processed, and managed.
Photo credit: Dennis Onsongo | Nation
Convoys of exhauster trucks – enormous metallic tankers painted in dull brown – rumble along Kangundo Road throughout the day, ferrying waste collected from households, estates and offices across the metropolis.
By the time you leave Ruai, you will have counted dozens of them, all making their way to one of the city’s least glamorous but critical facilities: the Dandora Estate Sewage Treatment Works, better known as the Ruai sewage plant.
The sewerage plant is an 18.2-square-kilometre complex of big ponds (lagoons). It sits on the edge of the Nairobi River to the north.
Mr Patrick Analo, the Chief Officer for Urban Development and Planning in Nairobi County, explains that Ruai ended up with the responsibilities it has because it is located at one of the city’s lowest points.
An aerial view of the newly expanded Dandora waste water treatment plant in Ruai, Nairobi.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
Colonial authorities who planned Nairobi’s sewerage in the mid-20th century sought an open, uninhabited land far from the economic centre.
“It was convenient for the flow of sewer from most parts of Nairobi to that destination,” Mr Analo says. “The treatment of waste is organic in the sense that there are organisms which are introduced to the sewer, and then naturally the sewer is treated until we have a by-product, which is wastewater, that is released to flow all the way to Athi River. The area was also found to be ideal because by that time it comprised of vast, empty, undeveloped land, making it ideal for the establishment of that facility.”
Ruai Sewage Treatment Plant in Nairobi.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
For the newbies in the area, the odour can be overwhelming. However, for residents, it has become part of life.
Brian Kimani, a 28-year-old who has spent his entire life in Ruai, says they have no problem with the smell because that’s their home.
“That smell for us is normal. It does not stop us from eating ugali or nyama. It does not make us sick. The smell is just the smell,” he says.
But he admits that there are times when the stench becomes heavy. “Around evening, when they release, you feel the strong smell, but it passes. The rest of the time, it is life as usual.”
Brian shrugs when asked about the large pools used to treat the sewage. “There are hippos and crocodiles in that water, but it is fenced, it is secure. We have learnt to live with them the way we have learnt to live with the smell.”
Long before the gated estates and bypass redefined the area landscape, Ruai in the 1990s was a place that felt forgotten by Nairobi. The city seemed to be far away and could only be connected through a rough road that turned muddy during the rains and dusty in the dry months. The residents recall walking long distances to find the nearest kiosk.
A section of Ruai along Kangundo Road on the eastern edge of Nairobi County in this picture taken on September 8, 2025.
Photo credit: Dennis Onsongo | Nation Media Group
Mzee Joseph Njoroge, who came to Ruai more than half a century ago, has seen the area when it was just open fields.
“We grew maize and beans, and you could walk for kilometres without seeing a house. Then the government built the sewage works, but people were afraid. You cannot chase the city away. When you look around the place is busy and full, not like before, there are shops everywhere. The young people don’t even know what it was before, but you can see, the city is coming this way,” he says.
In those years, land was cheap, but only a few wanted it. An acre could be bought for as little as Sh100,000, yet families in Nairobi’s middle-class estates considered Ruai too remote. For many, the thought of raising children next to Nairobi’s waste plant was unthinkable.
However, not all were repulsed, and some ended up settling in contested lands. Mass demolitions in 2013 and 2020, where thousands of people were uprooted from their homes, are proof of this.
Demolished buildings on May 16, 2020, of people who bought land next to a controversial 3,000-acre plot to pave the way for the expansion of the Dandora Sewage Treatment Plant in Ruai, Nairobi.
Photo credit: File
Those who dared to invest when Ruai was a despised address are today reaping fortunes. Land in the area is currently fetching millions, depending on its proximity to Kangundo Road or the Eastern Bypass.
The housing market is among the secrets of the area’s growth, with about 41 per cent of residents owning land while 59 per cent are renting.
Ms Mary Biwott, a businesswoman who owns a hardware shop on the Ruai bypass, says she bought her plot of land eight years ago for Sh500,000.
“When I said I was building near the sewage, my family was worried especially about my health. But now, every week, new houses come up. The bypass has made this place close to town. I do not regret.”
She points to a nearby gated estate under construction, saying it is proof that developers have seen the promise of the place and every one of them wants a share of the land.
According to the 2019 census, Ruai has 72,134 residents in 22,787 households. In the decade between 2009 and 2019, its population grew by more than 50 per cent, making it one of the fastest growth rates in Nairobi. By 2030, the population is projected to exceed 90,000.
In terms of the average rent paid, a common one-bedroom flat goes for Sh7,400 monthly. In estates closer to the city centre, the rent is almost double.
Despite the housing boom, farming has not disappeared from the environs. Mr Analo notes that Ruai, from an urban planning point of view, is also one of the areas where they are currently experiencing urban agriculture.
“We still have people who do crop farming and rear livestock. There are people who keep cows, goats, pigs, and you have people who grow vegetables, including maize, onions, and tomatoes. It is a very special place for us as a planning department in the sense that food safety and security are very key for our city as it continues to grow; not just for the purposes of feeding the city, but also as an income-generating activity for the farmers who do commercial farming,” he says.
On a walk through the neighbourhood, you notice farms that sit close to some houses. You will also spot the churches; some are large and established while others are makeshift structures with iron sheets. There are also mosques to serve the growing Muslim population.
The Nairobi Integrated Urban Development Master Plan (Niuplan), which was completed in 2013 and set to expire in 2035, placed Ruai in the city’s future growth plans.
Mr Analo notes that in the Niuplan, they proposed the establishment of 34 sub-centres. Ruai is among them.
“A sub-centre is a smaller unit of an urban settlement. We had proposed to devolve the services that are within the CBD to that area of the city to cover that corridor to the eastern part of the city, so that we can minimise the flow of traffic from the far areas into the CBD,” Mr Analo says.
“That plan is still there. We do hope that we can get funding as a county government and also national government to establish a headquarters for the sub-centre and to also connect it to relevant transport facilities,” he adds.
Ruai also faces numerous challenges, one being transport. Mr Analo admits that because of the estate’s vastness, the area has not been well covered by public transport.
“We mainly have Jogoo Road as the main tarmac road. We have that tarmac road that branches off from Jogoo Road to the Ruai sewer treatment plant. That road extends all the way to the market, and a section of that road is an all-weather tarmac road. The current administration is doing one of the single longest roads in Nairobi. That project is ready, and the design is completed. We are waiting for tendering and then implementation,” says the planning chief.
A signpost erected on a road leading to the Dandora Estate Sewage Treatment Land in Ruai, Nairobi, on April 27, 2020.
The transport links will determine whether Ruai remains peripheral or becomes central to Nairobi’s economic life. Commuting is possible but difficult since matatu fare to the city centre ranges from Sh80 to Sh100, depending on the time of day. The journey to town takes 45 minutes on a good day but nearly two hours in rush-hour traffic.
Social amenities, Mr Analo says, are also not at their best since the area also does not have many amenities like schools and Level Four hospitals.
“But those are things which are in the pipeline because it is one of the new growing areas for the city. You realise all other areas of the city that were attracting new developments are full, including the metropolitan area. We expect a significant push towards that area.”
Mr Analo adds that the government investment is already trickling in. He explains that just beyond the sewage plant, the national government is building a new market. Next to it is the “Centre of Excellence”, a project launched by the first county administration which Mr Analo says was meant to cater for destitute and homeless people but has not been completed.
Ruai’s economy is a patchwork of formal and informal activity. Surveys show that about 52 per cent of its residents are formally employed while 48 per cent work informally. Still, 42 per cent of the residents run small businesses that are everything from kiosks to salons to boda boda services. The surveys say only 35 per cent of the residents hold salaried jobs.
The household income averages at approximately Sh76,000 per month, but the distribution is uneven. Some families are surviving on thriving agribusinesses, while others scrape by on casual labour. Moreover, their utilities are inconsistent. Whereas mains electricity is widely available, water shortages are frequent. This has forced the residents to mostly depend on water vendors and boreholes.
When asked about the persistent concerns of pollution and odour, Mr Analo says that they have developed a modern technology applied in wastewater management that is environment and climate friendly.
“There are also annual environmental impact assessment audits undertaken both by the Nairobi Water and Sewerage Company and National Environment Management Authority to ensure that the sewage plant subscribes to set environmental standards ,” he adds.
Evenings in Ruai bring a different atmosphere. Pubs along the bypass get packed with young people as several open-air eateries roast meat. Despite the smell that outsiders notice, the locals worry more about socialising and dining.
