Africa-Press – Kenya. Environmental activists and parents at Kari Primary in Kisii have threatened to hold protests against the county government for dumping waste near the school.
They said on Tuesday they will mobilise pupils to Governor Simba Arati’s office once learning resumes if the dumping would not had been stopped. “Unless the garbage is removed, they have confirmed participation and it will be embarrass him the more,” activist Ben Nyamwaro said.
The sorted garbage has been disposed off in dug-up holes at the school, emitting a pungent smell to the school compound. Residents of Nyanchwa estate where waste has also been dumped at a plot adjacent to Kisii Special school have made similar threats.
Already, some residents and government officers living nearby have said the odour has started to attract huge swarms of flies to their houses. A few others have contemplated relocated to other areas.
On Tuesday, two environmental activists; Ben Nyamwaro and Fred Nunda, gave Governor Arati a 24-hour ultimatum to begin removing the garbage from the areas or they will sue the county administration.
They said they are also ready to lead street protests against the governor. Nyamwaro said the parents and pupils will protest to Arati’s office to express their feelings.
Paresnts who addressed the press at Kari Primary described the odour as unbearable. It is is wafted into classes too with the parents saying it is likely to spark diseases if not checked by January when pupils return to school.
“I came to pick examination documents for my daughter and I cannot stand this smell myself,” Linet Kebee said.
“I can’t wait to witness what my children still learning here would undergo when they return here in January,” she added. Caroline Bonareri said she was particularly concerned with the “epidemic of street urchins now hovering at the dumping site.”
“As a mother of daughters, I have reasons to get worried at this turn of events. The boys may begin sniffing glue by imitating the street boys.
“We want the government to know that we are a concerned lot and something must be done,” she said. County trucks and private vehicles continued to dump garbage at the site as parents addressed journalists.
National Environmental Management Agency officials are said to have already written to the Governor to express their disapproval . By Tuesday, however, the dumping went on in total disregard of the caveat.
On Friday, a senior Nema officer confirmed sending a letter to the Governor warning him against the continuous dumping of waste near schools and residential areas.
“It is true there are issues that have been raised and as Nema we have already issued a caveat,” the officer told the Star but asked not to be named.
He said the authority will expedite the matter. Kisii Senator Richard Onyonka on Friday castigated Arati for “getting it wrong in everything he is doing in regards to management.”
He said he has already warned the governor against dumping waste in public places to no avail. At Nyanchwa, sorting out of raw garbage is taking place outside the entrance of the Kisii Special School.
Some officers at the facility said they have already protested to the administration. “One doesn’t really have to summon much common sense to discern that doing this near residential houses and facilities like this is foolish,” Charles Ongoge, a resident, said.
He said residents are planning to hold street protests on Thursday to express their displeasure. “We are going to pour out, and with fury, into the streets to oppose any further dumping of waste here,” he told journalists.
Juhudi Africa Programme communication executive Benard Nyamwaro rebuked the county government for exposing people and learners to health hazards. The waste disposal, he added, was taking place in public places without any express approval from relevant agencies and the residents.
“Already, the appearance of street children and their families around the two schools is a cause for concern that needs to be urgently addressed,” Nyamaro said. Fred Nunda, an activist, said Arati did not consult even the school further claiming but without proof that some children got allergic reactions.
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