Vast areas along the banks of River Makindi in Kandara, Murang’a county that were once filled with the plush green cover of arrowroots are now lying bare without any vegetation with a strong foul smell now filling the air due to the rotting vegetation.
Residents are watching helplessly as run-off waste water from a nearby fruit processing plant continues to submerge their arrowroot farms.
The aggrieved residents of Nguthuru village who spoke to the press said they thought the issue of run-off water from Pacil, a fruit processing company, would be a short-term challenge and reached out to the management of the company to have it resolved, which never happened.
They are now asking the government to intervene and stop the factory from dumping any more waste in their farms since their efforts to engage the management of the factory have been futile.
76 year-old Mary Nyaguthii who has been depending on her farm produce to support her family is one of those affected.
Nyaguthii takes care of her four grandchildren and her 42-year-old son who has been bedridden since he was involved in an accident that left him with spinal injuries over 10 years ago.
She told the press she would harvest about 20 bags of arrowroots from her parcel of land each season and that would provide a sufficient income for her family.
“My farm borders the factory, a large part near the river on which the arrowroots grew is now submerged in the waste,” she said.
Nyaguthii said she has now switched to vegetable farming on another part of her land but she has to get an alternative source of water for irrigation.
“I have to get water for my vegetables upstream in a part that has not been contaminated by the waste,” she said.
Nyaguthii lamented that besides the waste water nuisance her house has also developed deep cracks due to activities undertaken at the factory.
“Compactor machines periodically used at the factory cause my house to shake and I even have to hold on to something when this happens because it could easily make me fall,” she said.
She further complained about the foul smell emanating from the factory especially at night saying the stench it could be a health hazard for the family.
Her neighbor, Alice Wanja affirmed that she was also affected by the heavy machinery and said her mud-walled house once collapsed at 2 am as her family was sleeping and they had to be rescued by neighbors.
Wanja says she did not approach the factory for help and instead mobilized her neighbors to help rebuild her house.
Daniel Karugi, a farmer who had seven employees on his arrow roots farm said he lost a contract with a major hotel in Nairobi when all his crops dried up.
He blamed the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) for failing to take action against the company and called upon Governor Irungu Kang’ata to suspend the company’s license until it comes up with a suitable waste management plan.
Joseph Irungu, another resident, said food-crops dry up days after coming into contact with the waste, noting that efforts to resolve the issue have been fruitless.
“When we reached out to the company’s management, they told us to get alternative land and relocate,” he claimed.
Irungu said that farming arrowroots has been his only source of livelihood giving him an income of up to Sh500,000 annually.
Irungu said the proceeds from the arrowroots helped build his family a permanent home and educate his children and now his family is devastated because the land near the river where he did his farming has been rendered unproductive.
“I had planted arrowroots on an acre of land and now all that remains is a swamp,” Irungu said.
Another resident, Waithaka Kinyanjui said the company had admitted liability and was willing to have a sit-down with residents.
“An agricultural officer from Muruka ward did a valuation report that indicated that there was up to about Sh4.6 million in damages to crops on approximately 20 acres of land downstream from the factory,” he said.
“The signed report was presented to the company, but no action has been taken and the farmers continue to suffer more losses,” he added.
Murang’a County NEMA Director Sarah Wambui pledged to conduct a fact-finding visit on Wednesday and confirmed she has received complaints from the residents.
Attempts to reach out to the company’s management for their response were fruitless as security officers guarding the premises said the managers were unwilling to engage members of the press.
The residents, who continue to count losses amidst fears the waste water and the stench could be harmful to them and their livestock urge the government to intervene promptly.
By Purity Mugo and Bernard Munyao
