Runda Residents Form Crisis Committee to Deal With Flooding, Ask Those in Riparian Land to Vacate

 

Engineer Isaac Gitoho, the Runda Association

The residents of the posh Runda estate have formed a crisis committee to help their counterparts affected by floods. Engineer Isaac Gitoho said the Runda Association had formed a crisis committee to help residents affected by floods. Flooding in Runda According to the Runda Association, eight areas of the estate have been adversely affected by flood waters marooning their homes.  Isaac Gitoho, a past chairman of the Runda Association and a member of the crisis committee, said that they are helping those affected by liaising with government agencies. In an interview with CNN's Larry Madowo, Gitoho said that the flooding situation in Runda is the first and worst he has seen in his 25 years of living there. He acknowledged that people who had set up structures and homes next to the Ruaka River had contributed to the flooding situation in an area considered a rich neighbourhood. "We have been involving the Water Resource Authority to make people next to the Ruaka River move 30 metres from the river. We extract water from the Ruaka River for consumption after processing, and this river is very important to us," explained Gitoho.  Is Runda Estate riparian land? The engineer said that encroachment into riparian land was not only a problem in low-income settlements but also acknowledged that some residents in the area had put up structures on riparian land against the rules. "Riparians are not encroached upon by people in low-income areas. It affects everyone. The rules should apply to everyone. There are owners in Runda who are encroaching on riparian land and they have suffered immensely," said Gitoho. He said that the Runda Association had held conversations with those encroaching upon the Ruaka River's land and invited the Water Resources Authority to ensure the river was protected by removing illegal structures. Approvals for building in Runda "There are people who are too close to the river. The estate has developed from 60% to 90% in the past 15 years. I sit in the committee that approves development, and we vet fresh individuals who have gotten approval to develop to ensure all structures conform to set regulations," he added. This comes as Kenyan lawyer Ahmednasir Abdullahi said that Nairobi residents whose houses had been submerged by water are to blame for the situation. He claimed that they were the ones who built homes on riparian land and waterways and put their families in trouble. Flooding in Nairobi President William Ruto visited residents of Mathare whose loved ones were swept away by flood waters. The president promised to give a KSh 10,000 token to all 40,000 households displaced by floods to help them resettle. The government began demolishing structures on riparian land in Mukuru and Mathare slums in Nairobi. 

by  Michael Ollinga Oruko