Deep in the heart of Nairobi’s Pipeline Estate, the promise of the rainy season has turned into a daily struggle for thousands of residents.
Recent heavy downpours occurring almost every morning and evening have left the area’s roads virtually impassable.
The main thoroughfares have transformed into thick, grey rivers of sludge and stagnant water.
Motorists and pedestrians alike are forced to navigate a treacherous landscape of deep, water-filled craters and slippery mud.
In one striking scene, a woman carrying a child on her back is seen leaping over a massive trench of muck, highlighting the physical toll on those moving through the neighbourhood.
A woman carrying a child on her back carefully navigates a dilapidated and waterlogged section of Kware Road in the Pipeline area of Nairobi on March 6, 2026/ECOS TECHENearby, a man struggles to push a handcart heavily laden with yellow water jerricans through the deep mire, his wheels sinking into the soft earth.
The vibrant, multi-story apartment blocks that define the estate’s skyline now overlook streets that are barely passable.
Despite the grim conditions, life continues as street vendors set up their stalls on the narrow strips of dry ground that remain.
Traders cook food under large umbrellas while standing in gumboots, surrounded by pools of oily water.
A section of Kware Road in Pipeline, Nairobi, is seen left in a deplorable state, dilapidated, waterlogged, and surrounded by heaps of uncollected garbage on March 6, 2026.PHOTO/ENOS TECHE
A man wades through a muddy and flooded road while pulling a handcart in Pipeline Estate in Nairobi, as poor drainage and damaged infrastructure continue to disrupt movement for residents in the densely populated neighbourhood, March 6, 2026. PHOTO/ENOS TECHE
Boda boda operators wait for customers along the flooded and mud-filled Kware Road in the Pipeline area of Nairobi on March 6, 2026, after heavy rains left sections of the road waterlogged and difficult to pass/PHOTO/ENOS TECHE.
Boda boda operators wait for customers along the flooded and mud-filled Kware Road in the Pipeline area of Nairobi on March 6, 2026, after heavy rains left sections of the road waterlogged and difficult to pass. PHOTO/ENOS TECHE.Boda boda riders wait patiently on the few patches of solid ground. The current heavy rainfall of more than 20mm in 24 hours is expected to continue across several parts of the country from March 3-9, 2026.
The rainfall is likely to intensify and peak between March 4 and 7, 2026, before decreasing in most areas by March 8.
