This archive report was first published on 17 August 2019.
Nema officials, in a joint operation with Nairobi county government, arrested 12 people for burning tyres in Donholm, Nairobi, on August 16, 2019.
The arrested individuals were found to be burning worn-out tyres and reselling their metallic remains to various steel companies.
According to Lawrence Mwangi, acting Environment Director for Nairobi county government, residents of Buruburu and Donholm had been complaining about air pollution, which mainly occurs at night.
"We have been here several times. But today we decided to take action and made several arrests on the ground. We have arrested 12 people and they will be charged with various counts including burning harmful substance in open air and operating illegal business," said Mwangi.
Additionally, Njoki Mukiri, NEMA Nairobi county director, noted that areas such as Kamkunji, Likoni, and Lunga Lunga are also affected by open air tyre burning.
"NEMA recently gazetted air quality regulation which prohibits open air burning of harmful substances and whatever is happening is illegal and we shall not allow it to continue because these gas emissions are harmful to our health," she said.
