Editor's Review

  • NMS took over the running of toilets ahead of the issuance of new guidelines following growing fights among entities that oversee operations at the toilets.

City residents will now use the public toilets in Nairobi CBD for free.

This comes after the Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) took over the running of toilets ahead of the issuance of new guidelines.

On Thursday those who worked at the toilets were asked to leave by officers from the NMS as they moved in to take over. The lavatories were closed down a move that inconvenienced city residents and travellers.

NMS moved in to take over after groups running the facilities clashed on Monday 10 May when some members failed to contribute money meant for managing the toilets.

Fightings among the groups that run the toilets are common. In 2020 police officers moved to quell chaos that rocked the CBD toilets after rival groups clashed over the management of public toilets.

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Members of the public were caught in the melee and were unable to access some public toilets in the CBD after armed officers were deployed to prevent rowdy youth from accessing the facilities.

Since 2018, there have been fights over the running of the toilets. Former governor Mike Sonko threatened to take the washrooms and hand them over to City Hall if the private entities failed to reach consensus.

The public toilet industry in Nairobi makes more than a billion shillings every year and this has caused fights among different entities that want to get their hands on these funds.

According to City Hall, there are 68 public toilets in the city with 17 located within the CBD.