By Rhoda Mutuku
The staggering natural beauty that defines Mombasa, flavored by the breathtaking surrounding of the balmy turquoise ocean, should make a walk in the city a pleasurable experience.
This is however not the case as there are alleys and dead ends strewn with garbage throughout. It is an ugly state that has continued to hold residents in the touristic city hostage with impunity.
As you drive through Kibarani cause way from Moi international airport, an all-pervading stench, choking wafts of smoke and swarms of flies emanating from local dumpsite, is what ushers you into the beautiful island.
Like a cover page of a book, the ugly sight of the dumpsite perhaps appears to summarize the whole tale about Mombasa garbage.
“Having Kibarani where it is right now, is like moving Kayole dumpsite between JKIA and Nyayo stadium…is that a good deal?” poses group CEO of Sun Africa Hotels Mr. Mohammed Hersi.
Hersi who is also the chairman of Kenya tourism federation is concerned that the presence of Kibarani is a permanent eyesore for a city that welcomes international visitors such as tourists. For a tourist, the state of Kibarani always makes the first and last impression of the city.
“Some of the visitors actually wonder whether they are at the right destination until they arrive at the hotels. Unfortunately, that is usually the last thing they see when they leave for the airport and that is what they always remember,” says Hersi.
On some nights, the smell of burning waste permeates the air and thick smoke engulfs entire locales.
“Sleeping becomes a problem, because of the smoke fume chock and irritate…people around here cough continuously all nights,” says Mercy Kadzo, a nearby resident of Kibarani.
Towards the Island and beyond, the garbage menace is inching closer to an environmental catastrophe.Elsewhere in Kongowea neighborhood adrift the island is like a cradle home of waste as garbage can be seen everywhere — almost as if it has become part of the environment.
In VOK area, residents speak with visible anger of agitated folks who have helplessly watched wastes grow into sprawling mountains of garbage that they say have dominated the area, and are virtually ruling them.
They explain how garbage has ruthlessly deprived them of their various freedoms including freedom of worship.
“The garbage has blocked all the drainage systems around and whenever it rains, our Mosque gets flooded. It then becomes difficult for our boys and men to pray in the Mosque yet they are supposed to pray five times a day” says Mariam Juma, who lives next to the sprawling garbage site of VOK near Gishanga estate.
A stone’s throw ahead via a cabro road is Kambi Kikuyu, another busy neighborhood flanked by a crowded trail of retail shops and other business premises.
The cabro road then curves and narrows into a dead end where it completely disappears under a thick spillage of assortment of wastes rolling from another mountain of garbage. Doors to adjacent premises speak volumes, as they appear to be permanently under lock for months.
“Tenants come and go because most of them can hardly stand the foul smell…I am also struggling to operate my tailoring business here. My business has gone down because of the hygiene situation around,” says Unice Mutua a tailor at Kambi Kikuyu.
Whenever it rains she says, her business floods and she is forced to close down for a month or so because “smell emanating from the garbage becomes unbearable.”
A putrid stench of decomposing vegetables fused with open sewers tames the whole stretch of Fidel Odinga road bordering Kongowea market from Kengeleni junction.
“I am here because I cannot avoid the market, this is where I make a living. In most cases we lose customers because of the bad smell in this market. The smell is irritating even to passengers on traffic jam,” said Samuel Kahura, a trader at Kongowea market.
A similar scenario mirrors at Mackinnon market in the CBD which recently underwent renovation by national youth service and where traders complain that poor waste management has earned the market an ugly identity.
Mombasa was recently hit by a string of disease outbreaks most of which are said to have resulted from poor hygiene, with cholera claiming four people.
There was renewed hope with the coming of environment executive Godfrey Nato who immediately launched what he said was an intensive cleanup operation but residents are concerned that the operation has done little to get rid of the situation.
Nato has however remained firm that his department has made ample efforts to manage the poor state of garbage.
“In the island we have really tried and residents should appreciate our efforts,” he said when The Plu contacted him regarding the situation on the ground.
With the deteriorating situation however, questions are now being asked as to whether the county is really prepared to deal with the menace or the move was just a kneejerk reaction by the county strategically to escape blames following a cholera outbreak in Mombasa.
But according Dr Nato, private waste collectors have been piling woes on county’s current garbage menace. He has since vowed to crack the whip on errant members of the public who fail to comply with existing waste management act of 2017. Defaulters of the act will attract penalties not limited to Sh 50,000 or six months imprisonment.
At a recent briefing, Nato charged that the said private waste collectors had established more than 54 illegal garbage points which have contributed to soaring garbage problem in the county.
“We have managed to close some of the illegal collections points such as MTTI, Kikowani, Bondeni, Mama Ngina and Changamwe estate which have been established haphazardly,” Nato told journalists in Mombasa adding elaborate plans are on course to liberate the County from garbage eyesore which has held the county hostage for a couple of years now.
The executive announced a raft of measures in line with the waste management act, he said were part of the approach by the county to liberate the county from the stubborn ghost of garbage that has been on a persistent haunting spree.
They include a directive ordering all individuals and entities involved in waste collection and transportation be registered with the department of environment within seven days.
“The waste management act states that no unsilenced person shall be allowed to transport waste,” he stated.
The executive further directed all waste generators including households, commercial entities and property owners to acquire and display waste bins within their premises in not less than 20 days.
“Failure to this the county will take action that may include withdrawal of licenses for commercial entities. Specifications for the waste bins are 39 cubic feet by 2.c cubic feet with handles and a lid,” he said.
Dr Nato insisted his department is determined to ensure that Mombasa is kept free of garbage.
“We have cleared accumulated waste in most of the collection points across the county. The places where we have significant impact include Uwanja wa mbuzi, Kwa Karama, Kongowea, Mcheleni, Kiembeni and most places on the island,”
Despite the assurance by environmental and health authorities, Mombasa is still sinking under mountains of garbage and quagmire of open sewers.
A spot check by The Plu a day after Nato’s statement, identified various points within the county that were still choking in piles of uncollected waste.
At Barclays bank roundabout in the CBD, there is dark slurry of sewer oozing from a broken sewer pipe. AND Areas such as Kwa Karama , Tononoka and Kambi Kikuyu in Kongowea were still strewn with volumes of refuse as residents directed blame on governor Hassan Joho’s administration.
At Kwa Karama, there were herds of cattle grazing on the garbage as several people were busy dumping the garbage.
“I came here to buy fish but I failed because of the poor state of hygiene around. The County has a responsibility to clear garbage on daily basis. That is the only way Mombasa can be clean,” said Mary Mwigeu, a resident of Mkomani.
Ali Mohamed, an elderly resident of Kongowea said the County has contributed to the burgeoning of the garbage problem in Mombasa because it had failed to provide garbage bins for residents to deposit their waste for dumping.
Mohamed said in the past when Mombasa was clean, the then Mombasa municipal would provide garbage bins for each household to deposit their garbage every day before municipal officials go round collecting the garbage.
“We are asking the county to provide garbage bins for residents to deposit the waste… currently there are no bins, where does the county want residents to deposit their garbage?” posed the resident.
Regarding the warning that errant members of the public found violating the county waste act, will attract penalties not limited to Sh 50,000 or six months imprisonment, the residents said it was wrong for county to come up with intimidating acts without first laying out clear strategies.
“They can come up with fines up to Sh 1 million and arrest all of us, but will that solve the problem.”
