Fresh sewage food that feeds the city with poison

By NANJINIA WAMUSWA

Many people in the city feed on food grown on sewage and experts are warning that such produce could have adverse effects on health. 

Nairobi Dam, which used to be a clean water reservoir for the city in the 1970s, has now become a reservoir for raw sewage.

Slum residents are now illegally using the silted expansive section of the dam to plant crops, mostly vegetables.

These crops are sold to the neighbourhood estates like Kibera, Highrise, Jamhuri, Lang’ata, Kianda, Ayany, Otiende and many others surrounding the city.

Experts say the soil around the dam could contain heavy toxic metals such as lead, zinc, iron, copper, cadmium, chromium and aluminium coming from household and industrial wastes.

A water engineer Vivian Nabuso told The Nairobian one of the ways heavy metals enter our bodies is through the food we eat.

“Concentration of heavy metal toxins have the ability to impair cells, tissues and body systems,” she said.

She said though these metals are essential to human life, their high intake is harmful. For example, the high intake of copper causes anemia, liver and kidney damage.

High intake of mercury causes damage to the brain and the central nervous system while chromium can cause kidney, liver and nerve tissue damage.

Despite health concerns, farming continues in the dam unabated.

Silas Okulo owns two acres of land under yams that he has sold in the last five years.

“It started after I saw other people plant crops here at the dam. I looked for an empty piece of land and planted yams,” he said.

Okulo said he prefers yams because they fetch more money.

“This land is swampy and fertile,” he said.

A trader from Kibera slums said food from the dam are cheaper.

“These farmers got this land free of charge. Their prices must be fair, especially for those buying in large quantities,” she said.

The dam might have lost its past glory but now remains a source of income for many people, particularly from Kibera slums.