The smell interferes with normal activities in the area

A woman walks away from a heap of garbage that was dumped on Jacaranda grounds by unknown people.[Beverlyne Musili, Standard]

People living near Jacaranda grounds in Eastlands had to bear with the stench of sewage and garbage dumped in the area for the second day.

Unknown people had littered the ground with human waste on Monday night ahead of a rally planned by the Opposition on Tuesday. In addition, security agents were deployed to man the filthy ground. And yesterday some of the officers were still manning the grounds.

“It was our lucky day. We had help guarding the ground. The people who dumped the waste there had us in their hearts, just in case we got tired, the mess would take charge,” joked an officer who was present during the operation.

But for the residents, it is nothing to joke about. The smell of human waste and garbage, which they say were brought from elsewhere, are a health threat.

“This cannot be garbage from Kayole. It has very sharp and distinct fumes that are different from the smell at the dump sites around here,” said Lucy Atieno, who runs a small food stall at Jacaranda.

Across the field is a day-care full of sneezing children, some with their noses running from the tear gas fumes that still hang in the air.

Suffering children

“The children are suffering. We are begging the county government to remove this garbage from here. It has really become difficult to take care of these infants with that stench coming right into the house,” said Wangeci Kinyuri, who works at the day-care.

Ms Kinyuri said the children were still uncomfortable from the strong stench coming from the garbage in the field.

She sad some of them had bloated stomachs and difficulty breathing as the wind blew the smell right into their house.

“The children who are left at the day-care every day were still scared and uneasy. We are also scared diseases like cholera and other respiratory diseases might break out from the smell. Please take away the garbage,” she pleaded.

Three heaps of garbage strategically placed on the field had become food for cows and other pests, but the one in the middle of the filled was conspicuously shunned by all, except the buzzing fat flies hovering all around it. This was the pile of human waste.

Affecting business

“Customers are really complaining, even though they haven’t stopped buying mangoes and other things from us. But this environment is not conducive for carrying out food business. We are pleading with Governor Mike Sonko to ask his workers to collect this garbage,” said Lucy’s neighbour, who was selling ice-cream and other fruits.

Lower Savanna Member of County Assembly Nicholus Okumu said there was no indication of City Hall going to collect the garbage.

“I am going to raise it at City Hall right now. The residents are suffering from the smell and they could not sleep comfortably last night,” said Okumu.

The MCA also said he was following up the case to establish who was responsible for such a shameful act.

“It is such a shame and we are trying to get at the bottom of the matter. Meanwhile, I am going to talk to City Hall, to go and clear the mess before more people are affected,” he added.