MaryReneeGachihi

I live in Lukenya, Machakos County, less than 40 kilometres from Nairobi. Directly across from my home lies Kilili village — a place politicians flood every election season to beg for votes. The village has about 500 residents, including over 300 school-going children. It boasts more than 20 unlicensed bars, 15 churches, and just six police officers stationed at the nearby Lukenya Police Post. When it rains, a seasonal river floods and completely cuts off access to Mountainview Primary School, which sits on the opposite side of the village. The Kilili village is densely populated, with families renting houses while working at stone quarries and cement factories. Fewer than 20 people, including me, live on my side of the river. During the rains, I stay put because even vehicles cannot cross the flooded river. Meanwhile, young children are forced to miss classes, while others risk their lives trying to wade through the dangerous waters. The school also lacks running water, so pupils must carry their own for drinking and handwashing. Cement giants like @BamburiCement and @MombasaCement extract raw materials from our area, reap billions in profits, and contribute millions in levies to the county. Yet those levies come from the very parents whose children must wade through a river just to reach school — and who study without access to clean drinking water. This is not merely a weather problem. It is a glaring failure of leadership and service delivery. Machakos County’s budget for 2025/26 stands at KSh 10 billion. I am confident that Governor @Wavinya_Ndeti can resolve this issue in a single day — before a child drowns — just as Governor Sakaja swiftly fixed some roads in Nairobi ahead of French President Macron’s visit.