Michuki gets Nairobi River clean-up award

Environment minister John Michuki at a news conference where he received an award for his efforts to redeem the Nairobi River. On his right is Bakari Kante, the UNEP director of law and governance. Photo/ DENNIS OKEYO.

What you need to know:

  • He received the award in Basel, Switzerland, during a UNEP convention on the control of movement of toxic waste in November.

Environment minister John Michuki Wednesday received an international recognition for his efforts to redeem the Nairobi River.

The United Nations Environmental Programme presented the minister with a certificate recognising his efforts to clean the river, which had been rendered lifeless by human and industrial waste.

He received the award in Basel, Switzerland, during a UNEP convention on the control of movement of toxic waste, which he attended last month.

When he embarked on the rehabilitation of the Nairobi River in April, few believed that water would ever cascade through the meanders of the city's densely populated slums. Only months later, that is happening.

The director for environmental and Conventions at UNEP, Mr Bakari Kante, praised his “leadership and commitment to global environment”, adding that no one had raised courage to face the Nairobi River issue.

Presenting the certificate, he said: “Here is a man who looks beyond short-term ambitions, and acts for future generations; someone who is not driven by short-term interest, but by public interest.”

Mr Michuki said that he the irony of Nairobi city, host of UNEP head offices, was chocking under massive pollution pushed his ministry to act.

“It is for this reason that my ministry took the lead role in the rehabilitation and restoration of the Nairobi river basin to support-natural ecosystem regeneration, socio-economic activities and improved livelihoods,” he said.

He added that the efforts had achieved some results, including stopping 30 per cent of the points where raw sewage and other wastes spewed into the river, and planting 70,000 indigenous trees along its banks to restore natural vegetation.

According to the minister, some wild ducks had been spotted wading in a cleaned section of the river, near Kijabe Road, indicating that the water was becoming habitable again for living organisms.

And for Nairobi residents, the prospect of fishing in the Nairobi river is getting real; mudfish (kamongo) already breeds in some sections of the river, previously notorious for stagnant raw sewage, untreated industrial effluent and other solid waste.

Recently, a Nation team visited some cleaned sections and saw the fish popping out of the water with several herons (fish-eating birds) hovering over the waters, their eyes trained on their potential prey.

And if the "Nairobi fish" finally arrive in city markets, it will be another plus for a man known to get things done once he takes charge.

Mr Michuki announced that Nairobi Dam was their next target for clean-up, adding that the Environment ministry would soon acquire specialised equipment for removing weeds from the dam.

Kenyans experienced his tough stance first hand when during his tenure as Transport minister, Mr Michuki implemented tough rules – the Michuki Rules – which brought order and discipline in the public transport sector.