Mombasa County Govt sets up illegal dumpsite on KBC land

Ziwa La Ngombe residents in Nyali are lamenting over the mounting heap of garbage at an illegal dumpsite created by the County Government of Mombasa. The piece of land in question belongs to the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC).

The garbage which is surrounded by residential areas poses a huge environmental and health threat to the residents.

A range of scientific studies has documented the dangers that emissions from the open burning of household waste pose to human health. These include exposure to fine particles, dioxins, volatile organic compounds, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon, and polychlorinated biphenyls, which have been linked to heart disease, cancer, skin diseases, asthma, and respiratory illnesses.

The locals are demanding the dumpsite be relocated as a matter of urgency.

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A heavy stench and huge piles of garbage are what has characterized the illegal which just lies meters away from residential buildings.

Locals have to cope every day with smoke emanating from the garbage site as the waste is being disposed of.

One of the locals, Mary, who owns a restaurant in the area, laments how the dumpsite has affected her business which is her only source of income.

Several other locals are also up in arms over health issues they attribute to the dumpsite.

The dumpsite also has a negative effect on tourism in the area according to a tourist by the name Louis.

Louis, a visiting tourist rented a holiday home near the area but says he has had a rough stay due to the stench emanating from the dumpsite which has made the place inhabitable.

The residents are calling on the county government to find an alternative piece of land and relocate the dumpsite.

In a case pending in court, the County Government of Mombasa is contesting the ownership of the 22-acre piece of land by the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation.

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