Sewer bursts leave residents of Kakamega town in fear of outbreak of diseases

The Kakamega County Water and Sanitation Company is on the spot following complaints from residents over burst sewer lines spilling raw sewage in residential estates and streams.

Residents of Scheme estate complained the sewage was flowing into a stream they drew water from for domestic use and that it is likely to lead to outbreak of diseases.

Mr Shivembe who is one of the residents of the area said that the sewage, accompanied by human feces from different places including the Kakamega referral hospital has been spreading to their doors and threatening an outbreak of diseases.

“The stigma from hospitals, prisons and other places in the city has been addressed here,” said Shivambe, adding, “We fear an outbreak of diseases such as cholera will be caused by these sewages now spreading into our homes.”

The head teacher of Nabongo primary Mr Lawi Amuga said sections of the school compound had been flooded by the sewage, exposing pupils to health hazards.

“We have lived with this problem since 2018 and the overwhelming stench emanating from the flow is making it difficult for pupils to carry on with lessons and other activities smoothly,” said Mr Amuga.

The school is forced to hire casual workers to drain the sewage which flows to classrooms, disrupting learning,” said Mr Amuga.

The water firm managing director Mr Fred Atwa said he had received the complaints and workers had been dispatched to repair the damaged pipes.

The residents complained that despite reports of the leakage of pipe in several months ago, they said that no action has been taken to fix it saying children are the most affected by their play on the sidewalks.

Joyce Kerubo is a tenant with plans to evacuate the area after other tenants were evacuated due to the floods of sewages in their homes.

“Tenants evacuated after the sewage returned to the houses they were living in for there was no drainage that the waste could go through,” said Joyce.

Similarly, the commercial activity in the area has been affected as many of the vendors are moving to alternative locations due to the pervasive odor and attracting flies that threaten the health of our customers.

The other parts of the town affected by the sewer nuisance include Amalemba estate, Matende Secondary and the neighbouring Matende and Shivakala primary.

Mr Nathan Shivembe from Amalemba said he was worried about the frequent burst of the sewer lines which left homes flooded with pools of the dirty water.

“We depend on Mwikholo river for supply of water since supply of piped water was disrupted several months ago. The burst sewer lines are contaminating the river water exposing us to a possible outbreak of waterborne diseases,” said Mr Shivembe