Governor Johnson Sakaja oversees the removal of structures obstructing waterways along Naivasha Road in Kawangware.
Nairobi County is removing drainage obstructions and deploying more machinery to flood hotspots ahead of expected El Niño rains.
Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja has overseen the removal of illegal structures blocking waterways along Naivasha Road in Kawangware as the county steps up preparations for expected El Niño rains.
The operation is part of a wider flood-mitigation drive involving the removal of drainage obstructions, the clearing of waterways and the deployment of additional machinery to identified flood hotspots across Nairobi.
Sakaja said structures occupying drainage corridors would continue to be removed to reopen waterways and allow storm water to flow more freely. Similar clearance operations are underway in Mlango Soko and other parts of the city.
Drainage Corridors Targeted
The Naivasha Road exercise targets structures that obstruct the passage of water through established drainage routes. Sakaja said restoring those routes forms part of the county’s work to protect lives and property ahead of the anticipated rains.
His remarks signalled that the removal exercise would extend beyond the structures cleared during the Kawangware operation. The county’s stated focus is on encroachments that interfere with drainage corridors and restrict the movement of storm water.
Alongside the removal of structures, county teams are carrying out physical improvements to drainage channels. These include clearing accumulated material, removing silt and increasing the depth and width of waterways.
Works Inspected in Embakasi
The governor also inspected ongoing flood-mitigation works in Imara Daima, Kwa Njenga and the Governor’s Road area, covering locations in Embakasi South and Embakasi East.
Teams in those areas are clearing and desilting drainage channels while also deepening and widening waterways. The works form another part of the same citywide intervention, alongside the removal of structures blocking water routes.
Additional machinery has been sent to locations identified as flood hotspots as the county accelerates the programme. Sakaja said the deployment of equipment was already taking place, together with drainage improvements across the city.
The inspections covered both the clearance of obstructed waterways and ongoing channel works, reflecting the different interventions being carried out in the named neighbourhoods.
Urgency Ahead of Expected Rains
Sakaja said the county would continue the interventions urgently, describing the drainage works as necessary to safeguard residents’ lives and property.
He outlined deepening and widening channels, desilting waterways and positioning machinery at hotspots as the main measures already underway in preparation for El Niño.
The county’s immediate effort combines reopening blocked corridors with improving existing channels. In Kawangware and Mlango Soko, that includes removing obstructions, while the works inspected in the Embakasi areas involve clearing and expanding drainage routes ahead of the expected rainfall.
