Nairobi is overwhelmed, promised help should be availed - Senator Sifuna

Sifuna took to social media on Monday noting that the help promised by the National government has still not been availed in the affected areas as residents continue to bear the brunt of the ongoing floods.

“As the leadership in Nairobi, we have received a briefing on the situation regarding the floods and the planned response. As MPs, all we want to see is a plan we can get behind. The County Government is overwhelmed, and it is worrying that the help promised by the National Government has still not arrived in most of the affected areas,” he wrote on X.

His sentiments come after the Nairobi County leadership, led by Governor Johnson Sakaja, Senator Sifuna, Members of Parliament (MPs), Nairobi County Assembly leadership, and county executives held a meeting today at City Hall.

The main agenda at the meeting was to strategize on providing infrastructural and humanitarian support amidst interventions to combat the floods.

All emergency response teams including Nairobi Water and Sewerage Company, Health, Wellness, Nutrition, Mobility, and Works, and Disaster Management teams have been deployed to the affected areas.

They have mapped out the most affected households and are mobilizing relief items to support the affected.

The floods that have ravaged the capital city have led to loss of lives, destruction of properties including schools, and displacement of many residents in informal settlements.

At least 13 bodies have been retrieved from Mathare River with more than 1,000 houses destroyed by the raging waters. 

On Wednesday and Thursday, local grassroots organizations led by Shining Hope for Communities (SHOFCO) distributed foodstuffs, bedding, and clothes and helped move affected residents to safer places.

“We want to thank SHOFCO for coordinating the rescue and recovery mission in this area. Together with other organizations and CBOs, SHOFCO also delivered foodstuffs to the affected families,” said David Ojiem, a youth leader.

“We need clothes, sanitary towels, foodstuffs, and any other essential items that people use. Our people are in dire need at the moment and we appeal to well-wishers to come to our rescue,” Elizabeth Okumu, Shofco Urban Network Nairobi County Chairperson, said.