The sewage scavengers

By HUDSON GUMBIHI

Massive sewer line that dissects Lunga Lunga slum covers a dark secret that is filthier than the waste it conveys: The dangerous search for valuables in the mess by hordes of desperate young men

Until James Ng’ang’a died early this month, his parents had no idea that their teenage son was involved in a venture so daring that many Nairobians would place it to the realm of the surreal.

James, 19, was a Standard Six dropout, who for years created the impression that he was a casual labourer. But the truth was filthier — and it came out in the open when the police and emergency services were called to rescue him from inside a sewer line in the vast Lunga Lunga slums. They unfortunately arrived too late and too ill-equipped to save the young life.

The circumstances in which the teenager found himself inside the conduit that is usually reserved for water and waste were even more depressing. Investigations by The Nairobian have revealed that James was one among tens of slum youth who risk life and limb to rummage sewerage in search of coins and scrap metals. The sewer that cuts through the Lunga Lunga shanties, all the way from Nanyuki Road in Industrial Area, has apparently been turned into a ‘mine’.

Our inquiries indicate that on an average day each member of the ‘sewage scavenger’ gangs take home between Sh300 and Sh400 worth of coins retrieved from the raw industrial and human waste. Those that chance upon nails and scrap metals are guaranteed to earn even more. 

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The massive sewage artery is mostly intended to discharge industrial waste from manufacturing firms. But because of the expanding human settlement, slumlords and their tenants have punctured it and erected pit latrines. The ‘sewage scavengers’ bank on the oddity that sometimes coins will drop off the pockets of squatting pit latrine users. Nails and scrap metals from the factories are also precious items to mine from the mess. All it takes to get to the trove is to enter the sewer. 

Coins retrieved from the sewer are washed and taken to various retailers, who have in recent years been hit by a shortage. So bad has the coin crunch been that some outlets now use sweets as currency. The pieces of scrap metal picked by the ‘sewage scavengers’ are sold to scrap dealers or hardware shops.

Eutychus Otungi, who scavenged alongside James, told police that they had been doing the job for the last one year and there was no doubt the returns were worth the risk. In his statement, he also said in the last few months, there has been increased competition from new entrants. “He told us that they make good money from the sewer line, which apparently has been a source of income for many youth,” said Lunga Lunga Administration Police Commander Alphonse Mulinge, who was involved in the operation to recover the body of James.

Eutychus reportedly said it was not his wish to do such a demeaning task, but he had to make a living. This, he reasoned, was better than engaging in violent crime, a route taken by many youths in the slums. We were unable to interview him for this story as he declined to talk to The Nairobian after initially accepting to give his side of the story.

James’s father, Joseph Mugethi, a hawker at Muthurwa Market, says his family is shocked and shamed by the manner in which the teenager met his death.

“It was normal for him to disappear then resurface after a while. But this time he has gone for good,” says Joseph, who lives with his family in Kayole’s Kwa Nguruwe slums.

He describes James as a quiet young man, who kept to himself. “It was difficult to know his feelings because he didn’t talk much,” says Joseph.

On the fateful day, James led the way into the sewer, accessed through an open point, as he and his colleagues got off to their regular mission. Armed with powerful spotlights and a sack, their mode of operation involved crawling and trawling for a few metres then getting out for a breath of fresh air. And they knew their beat like the back of their hands.

But things did not go according to plan. Eutychus says the last thing he remembers is James letting out a piercing scream before suddenly going silent. His terrified counterparts instinctively crawled out of the filthy tunnel before embarking on an unsuccessful rescue mission that roped in those living nearby and curious onlookers.    

It was not until the following morning that the city fire brigade was called to start a search and rescue operation. 

“I sensed that something bad had happened to my son. Initially the information from his friends was reassuring — but that was before I saw the sewer line,” said 45-year-old Joseph, a father of nine.

But police say the fire brigade packed its tools and left the scene after it was established that the sewer played host to an unintended, but risky, addition — live electricity wires that supply illegal power to slum dwellers. Those behind the risky connections had clearly devised a new way to conceal their illegal activities from Kenya Power officials and the police, who have for years battled to cut off such supply in slums. It was likely James was electrocuted by some of the wires. 

“The firemen insisted that they could only go inside the tunnel after Kenya Power staff disconnected the live wires,” Joseph says.

But before the fire firm staff arrived, Eutychus, who had returned to the area to retrieve his shoe, stumbled upon his friend’s body floating in a nearby manhole.

“It appears that the body had been swept downstream, and got stuck in the manhole,” says Joseph, who wishes no young man in the slum will face a fate similar to his son’s.

In the meantime, the Lunga Lunga Administration Police Commander, has warned ‘sewage scavengers’ that the dangers lurking in the tunnel are too many. Abandoning the filthy mission, he says, is the only way out.