Nairobi Firefighters Cry Out Over Delayed Salaries and Poor Working Conditions

Firefighters attached to Nairobi County have voiced deep frustration over worsening working conditions, painting a bleak picture of a department that has long been celebrated for its lifesaving role but now feels abandoned by the very administration it serves. Officers report enduring delayed salaries, inadequate wages, and a working environment they describe as harsh and unfit for their demanding duties. County firefighters in Nairobi struggle with late salaries, low pay, and unsafe work conditions, as frustration grows within the department. They also lament the absence of protective equipment, exposing them to serious risks every time they respond to emergencies across the city. The grievances go beyond the workplace and have seeped into their personal lives, with many saying they have been unable to pay school fees for their children who returned to class last week only to be sent back home over arrears. The financial distress, coupled with the high-risk nature of firefighting, has driven many within the department into depression, a situation worsened by what they describe as a culture of unfulfilled promises from the governor’s office. "Hello Cyprian. Hope you are well. Kindly keep me anonymous. I am an employee of Nairobi County and I work as a firefighter. We are really suffering under this county government. Salary delay, low wages, unconducive working environment, no PPEs etc. Our children reported to school last week but they have been sent back home due to fee balances, and up to today we haven’t been paid last month's salary. Many of us in the fire department are going through depression, including me. The governor just gives us empty promises, and I think something should be done because we risk our lives and our efforts are not seen. Kindly Cyprian, share this and please keep me anonymous. Thanks." These revelations arrive at a delicate moment for Governor Johnson Sakaja, who only days ago survived an impeachment motion that had been initiated by members of the Nairobi County Assembly. The attempt to remove him from office was shelved after President William Ruto and ODM leader Raila Odinga personally intervened, holding talks with UDA and ODM ward representatives and persuading them to withdraw their push to oust the governor. The impeachment threat had been fuelled by dissatisfaction over how county resources were being managed, with MCAs complaining about bursary allocations, the ward development fund, and the governor’s alleged tendency to sideline elected leaders in decision-making. While the governor emerged politically intact after those high-level negotiations, the storm within county staff suggests that administrative challenges remain unresolved. Firefighters now stand as the latest group of employees demanding urgent action, warning that their sacrifices go unseen even as they put their lives on the line to protect Nairobi residents from disasters ranging from fires to accidents. This combination of political turbulence and mounting discontent within the county workforce has created renewed pressure on the governor, who only recently promised greater collaboration with MCAs and transparency in the allocation of public resources. As firefighters continue to work without the basic equipment they need and with wages that arrive late if at all, the credibility of those pledges is once again being tested in the eyes of both county workers and the wider public.