Sustained social media pressure coaxes Governor Sakaja into action
Before and after: The section has been an eyesore and an inconvenience to residents of Koroocho who found it difficult to access their homes when the road gets flooded due to raw sewage and uncollected garbage when it rains. Residents of Korogocho can now breathe a sigh of relief after the county government started constructing a culvert that is expected to solve a flooding menace in the slum estate.
Residents of Korogocho can now breathe a sigh of relief after the county government started constructing a culvert that is expected to solve a flooding menace in the estate.
The section behind Mama Margret Kenyatta hospital which had also become an illegal dumping site will be converted into a parking space for the hospital.
The construction is expected to be complete by March 15, 2023.
“Nairobi County government is currently laying a 900mm culvert at the entrance of Mama Margret Kenyatta hospital in Korogocho addressing the issue of flooding occasioned by blockage due to illegal dumping of solid waste and inadequate culvert downstream at the entrance of the hospital. The previous inadequate pipe culvert was demolished,” County Chief Officer engineer Geofry Tirop said.
“Governor Johnson Sakaja issued a directive to the Mobility and Works Engineers to come up with a long-term solution to this perennial problem, which afflicted the residents of Korogocho. The team worked closely with the Green Nairobi team to clean the drains and clear the waste. The area outside the hospital which was previously an illegal waste dumpsite will be converted into a parking area for hospital staff, patients and visitors,” he added.
State of the road
The plight of the people of Korogocho was brought to the attention of the public thanks to a Twitter user Hanifa (@Honeyfarsafi) who had been vocal about the state of the road and the contribution of authorities to the current mess.
The section has been an eyesore and an inconvenience to residents of Koroocho who found it difficult to access their homes when the road gets flooded due to raw sewage and uncollected garbage when it rains.
The spillover of dirty water and garbage behind the Mama Margret Kenyatta Level 5 hospital.
Member of County Assembly for Korogocho Absalom Odhiambo in a previous interview with the Nation pointed an accusing finger at Kariobangi MCA saying that most of the garbage came from his side.
According to him, the garbage thrown at the roadside is what gets picked by rainwater which then drains in Korogocho.
“I have tried having a dialogue with MCA Kariobangi because, to be honest, the garbage comes from his side. Garbage is just thrown on the roadside and when it rains it is collected by the water which drains here. When I engaged the county government, I was told that Korogocho has been assigned two people to clean the area, and of the two one is a supervisor. So it does not make sense that only one person is charged with the cleaning,” Mr Odhiambo lamented.
Faulted the government
Some residents, however, faulted the government for constructing the Mama Margret Kenyatta hospital directly on the drainage pathway.
This led to the construction of a culvert to redirect the flow of sewer water.
The culvert constructed at the time was, however, too small and could not drain out all the sewer water and garbage resulting in the occasional flooding.
Previously known as the Mathare-Korogocho Level 5 Hospital, Mama Margret Kenyatta hospital recently opened its doors to the public after more than a decade of stalled construction.
Construction of the facility started in the early 1990s but was grounded. However, the now-defunct Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) was, in 2020, tasked to ensure its completion.
The Sh400 million refurbished hospital was expected to reduce the patient load at Mama Lucy Kibaki Hospital, also a Level 5 facility, which serves more than 2.1 million people in the Eastlands area.
