Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja has defended his administration’s handling of the recent flooding disasters that have so far claimed more than 23 lives in the capital.
Speaking on Citizen TV on March 8, 2026, Governor Sakaja said perennial flooding has long been a problem and is not unique to his administration.
“I remember being stuck during the El Niño rains as a child in school and being marooned for hours until very late at night in 1997. Leadership is to provide solutions; it is not about blaming,” he said.
“The same people who cry foul when we evict those on the riparian are the same ones making noise.”
The Governor added that cleaning the city is a responsibility for everyone, pointing to citizens who dump waste in drainage systems, making the work of county staff more difficult.
“We hired 4,500 green army personnel who are out there unclogging every single day, but who dumps in those drains? Who is littering in those drains? We have provided bins. There is a responsibility all of us must bear,” Sakaja said.
He added, “We must be the generation that sorts out the problem, not remembers the problem and leaves it for somebody else.”
On whether the city can handle such extreme levels of flooding, Sakaja said Nairobi’s drainage systems were not designed for intense rainfall.
He noted the importance of support from the national government to address infrastructure challenges such as flooding and sewage works.
“The capital city cannot be organized based on the share of revenue that it gets, like other counties, and that is why Article 6 of the Urban Areas and Cities Act provided an opportunity for us to get additional funding. Look at 80 billion to sort out a problem,” he explained.
Sakaja also addressed questions about his absence from TV screens during the disaster, saying he was coordinating response efforts behind the scenes.
“When such a thing happens, you have to coordinate a rescue. I have been with the ministry, with my teams all over the 17 sub-counties. When I appear when there is a rescue, the focus shifts. I am not a firefighter; why would I make it more difficult for those officers who are working?” he said.
The Governor’s comments come as the death toll from the floods that struck on Friday evening has risen to 43, with heavy rains continuing to cause widespread destruction across the country.
In Nairobi, the rains and flooding have also disrupted water supply to several neighborhoods after key distribution pipelines were damaged, the Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company announced.
In a customer notice, the utility said: “Nairobi Water wishes to notify its customers that the heavy rains from last night and consequent flooding have damaged several water distribution lines, affecting water supply to the following areas.”