Editor's Review

"The Ministry of Interior what is not happening?" 

Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna has slammed the Interior Ministry for failing to respond to floods that have affected most parts of Nairobi County.

In a statement via X on Thursday, April 25, Sifuna said Mathare, Ruaraka, Kamukunji, and Embakasi West constituencies are yet to receive any assistance from the national government despite a directive from President Ruto.

“As of this hour, reports from the most flood-affected areas in Nairobi i.e. Mathare, Ruaraka, Kamukunji, and Embakasi West Constituencies are that the promised help from National Government agencies has not arrived. The Ministry of Interior what is not happening?” Sifuna wondered.

On Wednesday evening, President Ruto directed Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki and her Arid and Semi-Arid Lands and Regional Development counterpart Peninah Malonza to respond to the floods and intensify the multi-agency response.

File image of Residents stranded after floods render a road impassable. 

“I directed the ministries of Interior and EAC, Arid and Semi-Arid Lands and Regional Development, and the National Youth Service to immediately respond to the situation caused by the floods. They will immediately step up multi-agency response efforts,” the President wrote on his X platform.

On Wednesday, Governor Johnson Sakaja suspended all excavations along the riverbanks in Nairobi and ordered residents living along riverbeds and high ground to relocate.

The Nairobi governor also ordered all Private Service Providers (PSPs) to ensure that all collected waste is taken to the Dandora dumpsite.

Sakaja noted that the ongoing heavy rains and flooding have affected an estimated 60,000 Nairobi residents and that four people have lost their lives while six are reported missing.