This archive report was first published on 9 December 2019.
On December 9, 2019, the National Environment Management Authority (Nema) took a crucial step to protect the environment and public health in Kisumu County. The agency withdrew the effluent discharge licence of Kisumu-based Agro-Chemicals and Food Company due to persistent non-compliance with environmental laws.
The company had been accused of releasing raw industrial waste into River Nyando, making its water unfit for domestic use. Nema Acting Director-General Mamo Boru Mamo instructed his officers to draft the withdrawal of the licence, citing the company's failure to take matters seriously and ignoring restoration orders.
Mr Mamo also gave Maseno University seven days to comply with restoration orders, stopping them from discharging raw sewer into nearby rivers. The institution was ordered to construct an effluent treatment plant, failure to which it would be shut down.
Additionally, Nema ordered Kisumu Maximum Prison Kodiaga to stop emitting raw sewage into River Saka. The agency expressed concern over the level of pollution of Lake Victoria, with Mr Mamo stating, 'The private sector has complied, we are having a problem with most government agencies, when a lake like this is polluted, we are not safe as a country.'
Effluent from Kodiaga Prison's sewer line has been flowing to neighbouring villages during rainy seasons, posing a significant health risk to the community. In July 2017, at least 34 inmates from the facility contracted cholera, while in 2009, 30 inmates died of the same disease.
The prison facility uses an old sewer system that was put up in the 1950s, which has since been overburdened with additional prisons. The National government had set aside Sh30 million for the repair of the old sewer system, but the funds have yet to reach the prison.
