This archive report was first published on 6 November 2019.
Published on November 6, 2019, a water crisis loomed at the Naivasha GK prison after the facility's sewage system was cut off by staff from Naivasha Water and Sanitation Company over Shillings 6 million water bill arrears.
The disconnection came days after the water company had disconnected the water supply to the largest penal institution, which is home to over 3,000 inmates.
During the incident, drama unfolded as prison wardens tried to arrest the Managing Director of the Water Company, Eng. Nahashon Wahome, and his staff for allegedly trespassing on the prison's land.
Wahome explained that he led his staff to the institution to disconnect the sewer system after calls and letters to pay the debt were not responded to by the prison management.
He claimed that the prison was one of the leading institutions that owed the company millions of shillings, adding that the company had in the past engaged senior officers from prison headquarters over the pending bill before disconnecting the water supply.
Wahome stated, 'We have been very patient and even tried to engage the management at the headquarters which has failed to act.'
He added that the company was owed millions of shillings by area residents, including government departments, which had adversely affected the operations of the water company.
Wahome cited other institutions, such as the Kenya Wildlife Service Training Institute, as among many government institutions that owed the company millions of shillings in unpaid water bills.
He said that they were investigating reports that the institute was dumping their waste into the nearby bushes, which is home to hundreds of wild animals.
The disconnections have now forced the prison management to seek services from other water providers using water tanks to supply the institution, as it emerged that services in the prison had been overstretched.
A senior officer from the Prison Service, who declined to be named, termed the current situation in the penal institution as very serious.
He noted that the water supplied by the water tankers was not enough, adding that this had affected operations in the country's largest penal institution.
