Stop water wars in counties and provide genuine leadership

Water is a basic human right protected by the Constitution. And because it sustains life, nobody can rightfully deny another person access to the commodity. It is therefore unfortunate that in this day and age, Murang’a Governor Mwangi Wa Iria and his Nairobi counterpart Mike Sonko are engaged in an altercation over water. While Murang’a County Government insists on getting 25 per cent of the water collected at the famous Ndakaini Dam, Sonko’s administration won’t hear of it.

Indeed, the city governor made remarks to the effect that if Wa Iria continues threatening supply of water to the city he risks having his building on a riparian land being demolished. While this will sear at the heart of Kenyans, seeing the warped way of thinking in key leadership ranks, the collective leadership of the country must not escape blame. Natural resources like water must be shared equitably and policies and regulations on the same clearly spelt out. It should not be for the individual counties or administrative units to decide who to share with and who to deny. That is why we have a national government guided by the supreme law of the land.