The Nairobi River Commission Rehabilitation Project and Open Justice Day

Umande is excited to be working with the Nairobi River Commission (NRC) and many other local organisations to restore the rivers of Nairobi: the Mbagathi River, the Galana River, and the Nairobi River. The Nairobi River Commission was established in December of 2022 with the hope of rehabilitating the rivers of Nairobi and with it the blue and green infrastructure of the city and surrounding communities.

This spring, the NRC began to engage with civil society organisations, community groups, and other non-state actors about the important role that they will play in helping to clean and rehabilitate the river. Umande hopes to be able to engage community groups that we partner with to get involved in the project, to help ensure that the residents of Kibera and other informal settlements in Nairobi can have a voice in this commission. All solutions that are come up with must put those who are the most disenfranchised first.

The NRC hopes to focus on four areas: catchment protection and restoration, mapping and reclaiming riparian land, drainage and hydrology, and waste to rivers. The hope is that by targeting these areas the river ecosystem becomes available to support biodiversity and becomes a clean and beautiful public space for all. In addition, the rivers also become a source of inclusive, sustainable development which in turn drives socio-economic development.

The NRC is also working with the Judiciary system to ensure that those living along the river have their voices heard and all actions take into account their needs. Umande attended the open judiciary day, held on April 25 in Korogocho. At this event, the Environment and Land Court said that they intend to undertake this through innovative people-centered approaches. The hope is to decrease the negative effects of flooding, increased rain, and river pollution on the people, property, and livelihoods of those who live near the rivers. Umande Trust helped moderate breakout classrooms and record the challenges faced by residents along the rivers, as well as the solutions that they wish to see in their community. 

Umande hopes that our expertise in providing environmentally friendly low-cost sewage waste solutions, such as the creation of Bio Centres, will be of help to the commission, in its pursuit of working to reduce the amount of waste, particularly sewage, that ends up in the rivers. Umande has been working since 2004 to provide WASH solutions in informal settlements across Kenya that decrease the amount of open defecation and through that the contamination of rivers.