KeNHA on the spot again as floods cause havoc in Lanet again

A resident inspects a toilet that is on the verge of collapsing after floodwater eroded the ground beneath it in Lanet, Nakuru County. Residents say continued gulley erosion has left homes and other structures at risk following repeated flooding in the area. [Kipsang Joseph, Standard]

Nancy Wanjiru is living on the edge, just like her toilet, which is literally hanging on the verge of collapsing after gully erosion beneath it.

The erosion is continuous and Wanjiru fears that soon her house will not only be flooded but it may collapse.

Wanjiru had been living without any dangers until the construction of Nakuru-Ol-kalou Highway.

The Standard observed that the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) diverted the water from two dams and Ndundori Hills to the farms.

The Standard also observed that the drainage constructed along the highway was incomplete with some part not corrugated and some missing.

KeNHA also diverted the water, with one passing underneath a house.

According to Wanjiru, some of the residents allowed a man-made drainage to pass through their farms.

"KeNHA did a drainage system, but the same was not maintained. They also did not corrugate it and it has been spending," said Wanjiru.

On Wednesday, her farm was flooded, and she lost her livestock due to floods.

She expressed fear that if nothing is done, the damage would ba a catastrophe.

A few metres from Wanjiru lives Pastor Bernard Njoroge, who witnessed the flooding on Wednesday evening.

According to Njoroge, all the water from the dams, runoff, and rain converges in a culvert outside the gate of his house.

"We heard the water running down the hill. When it reached here there was no thoroughfare because the constructed drainage has not been maintained. It thus flooded our farms," he said.

Njoroge insisted that the only way for them to survive would be for KeNHA to put up a drainage system adjacent to the Highway as they were supposed to.

"Before the highway was constructed, there were no floods and afterwards we have floods. You do not need rocket science to know the problem," he said.

Margaret Wagicumu, who has lived in the area since 2013, expressed her anger, fearing not only for herself but for her children who play near the gullies.

She said she did not believe that they were Kenyans because their cries had been ignored.

"We hear El Niño is coming; if that happens, we will die. This is the damage of a one-hour rainfall; imagine if it rains for weeks?" She posed.

According to Wagicumu, unless measures were taken promptly, many lives would be lost, and farms would be rendered useless.

She explained that before the highway, there was a Calvert that used to divert the water to River Mbaruk but the same was allegedly blocked and Calvert were put to divert the water to the farms.

"We have water from a dam in Wagakuyo, another from Ndundori hills, another from the rain and another from a dam Gatimu. The water is also dirty," she maintained.

Wagicumu said that instead of mitigating the situation, the authorities had instructed them to vacate their residents. However, she maintained that they have nowhere to go.

This is the second time that the authority has been put on the spot.

Last year KeNHA was also accused of rerouting the runoff water supposed to run along Ol-Kalou-Nakuru Highway to Nyonjoro farms and homes using a small channel.

Following our coverage, the authority mitigated the situation by blocking one of the channels. It also constructed a kilometre of drainage but abandoned the same.

Beth Mburu said the residents had been neglected because roads and areas affected by floods have no street lights.

"We fear that our children and neighbours will be swept away by water at night and we would not know what befell them," she said.

When reached out to, KeNHA did not respond.

Last year, the authority admitted to the mess and said they were meeting the residents to mitigate the situation.