Nairobi residents on Thursday morning woke up to muddied roads following a heavy downpour that pounded the capital overnight.
Motorists using Lusaka Road had to drive through a sea of water – with pedestrians and motorcycle riders avoiding the flooded road.
It was a similar situation at Nyayo Stadium roundabout, sections of Mombasa Road, Enterprise road, the General Post Office (GPO) area – and many other areas – with pedestrians forced to wade through the waters.
The drainage lines running parallel to the roads appeared to have been blocked, forcing running water to spill onto the roads.
Residents say that it’s the same situation in most estates – where proper drainage is a rumour.
“This is pure nightmare to motorists and pedestrians using this road. The county government need to have already improved drainage in our city roads because all of us knew that the rains were coming,” Raymond Musau, a motorist told Wananchi Reporting.
Pedestrians using the flooded roads told Wananchi Reporting that walking in the capital during rains has become very difficult.
“I left my house early in the morning and did not wear gumboots, now you can see my shoes are muddied and soaked in water,” said a pedestrian who was heading to Industrial Area on foot.
Although most of the roads in Nairobi’s Eastlands area have fairly well done walkways, poor drainage often forces rainwater onto the pedestrian footpaths.
Some residents blamed those contracted to unclog blocked drainage lines for doing shoddy work – often dumping silt removed from the trenches right next to the drainage line.
“The silt always finds its way back into the drainage line. Why don’t they move the silt to proper dumping sites? This explains why our roads are dusty and muddy,” said Musau.
The rains are coming after the country witnessed prolonged drought.
Residents of Nairobi want the county government to open up drainage lines, and completely move the silt from near the roads.
