Nairobi: Heaps of garbage, litter dampen Nairobi’s weekend feel

A picture taken on Sunday, March 2, 2025, at 11:00 am, shows a heap of garbage sitting idly at the Mfangano Street and Hakati road intersection in the heart of Nairobi Central Business District.

Some of the garbage can be seen strewn on the road – most of it loaded in white, green and yellow sacks. It’s a lot of garbage.

This being a Sunday – a number of shops are closed. It’s largely a family day.

“This is what you see when you use this street, and it’s not pleasant. The pavements too are littered mostly from last night's activities,” says Phane Wanjiru, a trader in Nairobi town.

“You can see that this kind of dumping is not accidental. Someone intentionally came and dumped this garbage here last evening or early this morning, and walked away without a care in the world,” she adds.

Wanjiru told Wananchi Reporting that the smell coming from the garbage is too strong. It is literally keeping many people away from the street.

"The spot is supposed to be a road island, not a garbage collection point," she says.

Andrew Khamisi, a small-time trader in the CBD, blames the situation on unscrupulous hawkers, cart pullers and business-people.

According to him, some people take advantage of the weekend lull to throw garbage and litter anyhow, in the process soiling the capital.

This he says happens probably because there are very few eyes watching on these days or nights. He, however, did not rule out possible acts of sabotage by certain individuals or businesses.

“Some people will come, collect garbage from certain businesses at a small fee, then proceed to dump it at this spot, or just anywhere in town, mostly at night, then disappear in the cover of darkness,” says Wanjiru.

There is also the problem of littering, which tends to hit a crescendo on weekends.

According to residents, a lot of littering happens in Nairobi CBD on Friday night, Saturday and Sunday, as many people are out having fun.

Residents now want perpetrators apprehended and fined heavily to serve as a deterrent.