This archive report was first published on 28 September 2019.
Nguruman, a region once known as the food basket of Kajiado county, is now facing a severe crisis after flash floods destroyed the irrigation canals and pipes in April 2018.
According to John Ole Ntukenya, a village elder in Nyumba Kumi, the destruction has been costly, with no development on the ground. The area used to supply a variety of crops to neighboring towns, including watermelons, mangoes, kales, and maize.
However, some residents have raised concerns that they were not consulted before the irrigation project was started, and that the engineers who designed the water intakes did a shoddy job, resulting in millions of shillings being swept away by the raging waters.
Nguruman Irrigation Scheme, constructed at a cost of Sh318 million by the national government through the African Development Bank, was destroyed by the flash floods, with water off-take points at the tributary of Entasopia and Oloibortortor rivers completely damaged.
County Commissioner Joshua Nkanatha has revealed that water and agricultural experts will immediately embark on finding a long-term solution to prevent future destruction of water intakes and pipes when it floods.
