The continued heavy downpour in Nakuru has unmasked the naked truth about the newest city in the country.

From a poor drainage system, to the effects of the geologically active Rift Valley area within the city, Nakuru’s market value seems to be hanging on a balance.

Interestingly, in 2007, the Department of Mines and Geology furnished the defunct Nakuru Municipal Council with a report on fault lines and fissures in the town.

The report was supposed to warn real estate developers to avoid affected areas and identify the type of structures to be erected on such grounds.

However, like many government reports, this important information gathers dust and remains ignored by city planners meant to guide developers in Nakuru city.

Recently in Kiamunyi, residents woke up to shockingly huge cracks splitting the land.

Cracks also appeared on the Mai Mahiu – Narok Highway in Naivasha, leading to the closure of the road.

In a statement from Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA), the crack was attributed to the ongoing heavy downpour.

“The cause of the crack has not been established, though preliminary reports attribute it to the ongoing rains,” read part of the statement.

The heavy rains have also led to the death of a local who was swept by storm water at Manyatta in Kivumbini Ward.

Storm water drainage where Maina's body was found.

Photo credit: PRISTONE MAMBILI/MTAA WANGU

The body was retrieved by police officers on the lower part of the drainage system after scrap metal dealers spotted it.

Meanwhile, residents of YMCA area in Manyani estate are also counting their losses after storm water made its way into their houses, destroying property of unknown value.

This has been attributed to the poor planning of Nakuru city with all the storm water making its way to the lower part of the city as it heads towards Lake Nakuru.

Some of the household items that had been swept away by water in Manyani estate.

Photo credit: PRISTONE MAMBILI/MTAA WANGU

In addition to property, infrastructure has been destroyed as well.

For instance, a section of DK Kanyi Road that connects section 58 and YMCA to Landhies Road caved in.

This rendered the road impassable with locals and motorists having to use alternative routes to section 58.

This even as the county administration struggles to address the issue of drainage and storm water menace within the Central Business District (CBD).

A spot check by Mtaa Wangu reveals that, whenever it rains, the feeder roads within the CBD are impassable as storm water makes its way on the roads, after overwhelming the drainage channels some of which were constructed in the colonial times.

Ben Macharia from Friends of Devolution says the county government should move with speed to re-do the drainage system within the City.

He says those who have constructed on the spaces where drainage channels were to be placed should be evacuated to allow workmanship to take place.

“Nakuru is a menace especially when we have the heavy downpour as the town becomes a mess. The drainage system in Nakuru should be re-done,” says Macharia.

Similar sentiments were echoed by Nakuru based Environmental Activist James Wakibia who argues that it is time that the county thinks of how to unblock the drainage system that is now becoming a problem during the heavy downpour.

pmambili@gmail.com

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Special Report: Heavy downpour leaves a trail of death, fissures, in its wake

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Pristone Mambili