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Kenya: Court Orders Nms, Nema to Close Dandora Dumpsite

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4 years ago

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The Environment and Land Court yesterday ordered the Dandora dumpsite closed within six months and the government to develop a plan for cleaning up the Nairobi and Athi rivers.

Justice Kossy Bor directed Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) and environment watchdog Nema to establish a new dumpsite and ensure the new landfill is environmentally friendly.

The Dandora dumpsite covers over 30 acres and residents of Korogocho, Baba Dogo, Mathare and Dandora eke out a living from scavenging in the waste, exposing themselves to health risks.

Photo gallery: Dandora Dumpsite

It filled up in 2001 and efforts to shut it down have always failed.

“The Nairobi Metropolitan Services is directed to take steps to decommission the Dandora dumpsite and relocate it to another site within six months of the date of this judgment,” the judge said.

After shutting down the site, she directed, NMS should embark on rehabilitating it.

“In the intervening period, the NMS will take all practical steps to ensure that the waste in the Dandora dumpsite is managed in a manner which protects human health and the environment against adverse effects from the waste,” she said.

NMS must also ensure that no plastics or other waste is burnt at the site.

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Recycling strategies

In establishing a new landfill for safe disposal of waste from Nairobi, Justice Bor ordered, NMS and Nema should work to reduce waste, separate biodegradable trash from organic garbage and prioritise the implementation of recycling strategies.

The judge made the decision in a case filed by residents of Korogocho, who argued that they have the right to a clean environment.

The residents, through their officials Isaiah Luyara Odando and Wilson Yatta, said the Nairobi River received improperly treated or untreated effluent from the Dandora sewage treatment plant.

The polluted water and raw sewage, they said, is used for irrigation downstream, which exposes consumers of food products to health hazards.

They accused NMS and Nema of violating their rights and sought orders to compel the authorities to adopt measures to stop pollution of the Nairobi and Athi rivers and permanently restore them.