- The Gatundu North residents most of whom are affected by the construction of the Ndarugu II dam submitted that the government should put up the waterbody elsewhere.
- They argued that they already have the Kariminu II dam which is located less than three kilometres from where construction of the new water resource is proposed to be done
Image: JOHN KAMAU
A public participation meeting organized by the Ministry of Water to discuss the proposed implementation of various water, sanitation and irrigation projects in Kiambu County ended in disarray after participants from Gatundu North Constituency stormed out.
Trouble started after the residents got wind that the engineers had prepared an attendance list with Athi Water Services header to allegedly force the approval for the construction of Sh13 billion Ndarugu II dam which they have been opposed to.
In their numbers, the locals started heckling the Ministry of Water engineers led by Charles Nzuki forcing the organizers to end the meeting at Kiambu Institute of Science and Technology (KIST).
In their statements, residents from Gatundu North said they had not been formally invited to the meeting.
They said they only came to know about it through a local newspaper and after learning that the government had a motive of forcing the construction of the dam without their participation.
They say they attended the meeting to have their views taken into account.
Led by Kimani Gachihi and Ng’ang’a Muthua, the residents alleged that the organizers had influenced a few individuals from the constituency to approve the project without their knowhow.
“We were not invited officially but the organizers called a few individuals to come and okay the project without the approval of the majority landowners," Gachihi said.
"We decided to come after learning this and our views remain that the project is unwelcome in the constituency. It must be relocated either at the forest or in another constituency.”
The meeting had been called by the Ministry of Water to discuss the implementation of 100 mega dams, 1,000 medium dams, and about 4,000 small dams targeting to connect a total of 6 million households to water and sanitation services and irrigate 400,000 acres of land across the country.
But the adamant attendees who also made away with the physical participants’ registration list accused the government of taking them in circles and employing suspicious tactics to have the water projects approved.
The Gatundu North residents most of whom are affected by the construction of the Ndarugu II dam submitted that the government should put up the waterbody elsewhere.
They argued that they already have the Kariminu II dam which is located less than three kilometres from where construction of the new water resource is proposed to be done.
The residents told the government to consider equitably distributing the water projects across the country to avoid turning one constituency into a sea.
“We came to submit about our discontent in having a second dam in the constituency. We knew from the onset that the government was scheming to use backdoor means to force another waterbody," said John Njoroge, a resident.
"In the spirit of equitable distribution of resources, the Ndarugu II dam project should be taken to another constituency, we already have one and it is enough for us. It does not help us either.”
The locals cited that relocating them from their ancestral land where they have comfortably been undertaking various economic activities such as pineapple, tea, coffee, avocado and fruit plantations has the potential to jeopardize food security in the region, as it would consume fertile and arable lands.
They conveyed their fear of forced eviction, which they say has taken a toll on their mental well-being, particularly among the elderly population.
Asserting that leaving their ancestral land for the project could further occasion social challenges, the residents declared their readiness for a serious legal battle to ultimately halt the multi-billion project.
The Ministry of Water had, in a newspaper advert called the meeting to facilitate the provision of policy direction formulation to address the challenges and further guide investment in water, sanitation and irrigation sector across the country.
The Ministry had, according to the advert organized similar meetings in Wajir, Homabay, Baringo, Nandi and Kajiado while other counties will have their views heard in the consequent days.
“This notice invites the general public to the first phase of public participation in the development and constituency water, sanitation and irrigation programs to identify the required demand for each constituency for the development of the necessary interventions in form of water, sanitation and irrigation programs to address specific water, sanitation and irrigation challenges across the country and may provide policy direction formulation to address the challenges and will also guide further investment on water, sanitation and irrigation sector,” a section of the newspaper advert read in sections.