Kenya: Mathare Slum Dwellers Protest over Water

Casper Waithaka

30 September 2009

Nairobi — Transport on a busy Nairobi road was paralysed on Wednesday following violent protests over water due to illegal connections.

Police were called in to quell the protests and restore order along Juja Road as Mathare slum dwellers lit fires to protest over the disconnection of water.

Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company communications officer, Ms Grace Some-Mwangi, said the disconnection had been prompted by the operation of illegal connections by many slum dwellers.

"Many residents have been selling the water and that is illegal," she said. Police lobbed tear gas canisters as they fought running battles with the rowdy crowd. Order was restore in four hours.

The slum has had flowing water even as other city areas continue to suffer rationing due to the shortage caused by a prolonged dry spell. The water company reconnected supply.

Pelted with stones

A number of people were injured and were treated at the nearby Moi Air Base dispensary and Kenyatta National Hospital. Motorists faced the full wrath of the crowd, which consisted mostly of young people, as they pelted vehicles with stones and shattered windows.

Thieves also took advantage of the situation to steal from people caught up in the ensuing confusion. Hundreds of passengers from Huruma were left stranded as matatus used alternative routes to escape the protests.

Ms Millicent Awori, a resident of Bondeni, said the protests were inevitable as they could not survive without water. "It was disconnected unfairly and we do not have the money to buy the commodity at high prices," she said.

However, other residents blamed water vendors for the protests. They said the vendors had made illegal connections that they were trying to protect. Representatives of the water company, residents and the government are expected to meet today to chart the way forward.