Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja has explained why he has remained out of the public spotlight over the past two days as rescue teams respond to deadly flooding that has affected several parts of the capital.
In an interview on Sunday, March 8, Sakaja said his focus has been on coordinating emergency response teams rather than appearing in front of cameras.
"When such a thing happens, you have to coordinate a rescue. I have been with the ministry, with my teams all over the 17 sub-counties. When I appear when there is a rescue, the focus shifts. I am not a firefighter; why would I make it more difficult for those officers who are working?" he posed.
Sakaja noted that during emergency operations, the priority should remain on saving lives and supporting affected residents rather than political visibility or public relations.
"In such a situation, you need to think about the people affected. How do you respond to them instead of looking for optics and PR? It would be very easy to wear gumboots, walk around, and look busy, yet take away focus on what needs to be done," he added.
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Sakaja also addressed the structural challenges that have worsened flooding in the city, particularly the drainage infrastructure, which he said was not designed to handle the current intensity of rainfall.
"The drainage that we have is not built for this amount of rain. Devolution is not a competition; it is for us to say this is why we needed that cooperation. The capital city cannot be organized based on the share of revenue that it gets, like other counties, and that is why article 6 of the Urban Areas and Cities Act provided an opportunity for us to get additional funding, look at 80 billion to sort out a problem," he continued.
Sakaja added that the recent floods have highlighted the need for stronger collaboration between different levels of government as well as greater responsibility from residents in managing waste disposal.
"These floods over the past 72 hours have been an affirmation of what we are doing. They have affirmed why we are cooperating, they have affirmed and shown Nairobians why there is a need for us to all take responsibility, for us to look at how we dump and how we treat garbage," he further said.
Sakaja added that the county government is implementing a comprehensive waste management system aimed at addressing garbage collection, transfer, and recycling to help prevent drainage blockages that often worsen flooding.
"We are doing an end-to-end garbage intervention from collection to transfer station to recycling, which we are going to do in Ruai and Dandora. In a few months, this city is going to be the cleanest city; things are going to be flowing," he explained.
This comes hours after the Kenya Meteorological Department warned that moderate to heavy rainfall will continue across Nairobi and neighbouring counties over the next 24 hours.
In an update on Sunday, March 8, the weather agency cautioned residents to remain vigilant as saturated soils and ongoing showers could still trigger flooding in several areas.
According to the department, rainfall intensity has reduced slightly compared to the peak period between 4 and 7 March, when heavy downpours were recorded across the Nairobi Metropolitan region.
However, the agency warned that moderate to heavy showers accompanied by isolated thunderstorms are still expected across the metropolitan area.
The weather office noted that the risk of flooding remains high because the ground has already been heavily saturated by the prolonged rainfall experienced since late February.
The 24-hour forecast from 09:00 Sunday to 09:00 Monday indicates that showers will be widespread across Nairobi County, with isolated, heavier rainfall expected in several parts of the city.
Areas likely to experience intense rainfall include southern Embakasi, Kibra, Makadara, Kamukunji, as well as parts of Roysambu, Westlands, Dagoretti and Kasarani.
Neighbouring counties are also expected to experience significant rainfall during the same period.
In Kiambu County, showers are forecast in Gatundu, Thika, Juja, Ruiru, Limuru, Kikuyu, Kabete and Githunguri.
Meanwhile, parts of Kajiado County, particularly the northern, western and central areas, are also expected to receive rainfall.
In Machakos County, showers are predicted in Kathiani, Machakos Town, Matungulu, Yatta and the northern sections of the county.
The meteorological department urged residents, motorists and local authorities to remain alert, noting that continued rainfall combined with already saturated ground conditions could lead to localized flooding, especially in low-lying and poorly drained areas.
