Water agency cuts supply to over 30,000 in three counties

Parts of Nyeri, Nyandarua and Laikipia counties are facing water crises after the Water Resource Authority (WRA) disconnected the supply from the Matitu Water Project.

The WRA officials, escorted by armed police officers, allegedly vandalised the critical water infrastructure last week, cutting the supply to over 30,000 water consumers. 

At least 6,000 direct consumers of the Mutitu Water Project, whose leadership and management has been subject of court battles, are among those most affected.

Witnesses, including staff at the facility, said the officers used mattocks to demolish drainage structures that channel clean water to households.

“The team was armed and uniformed. They descended on the installations and destroyed them in broad daylight,” said Joseph Kagiri, Chairperson of water projects in Kieni.

He added that staff at the scene could only document the events through photographs, as they lacked the authority to stop the operation.

Key components such as water meters, outlets, and channels, were vandalised, cutting off supply to thousands of families who rely on the project for domestic and irrigation needs. 

Kagiri added that the Mutitu incident is not an isolated case.

"Similar forceful operations have allegedly been conducted by WRA officials on other water projects in Kieni Constituency, including Mwiyogo, Endarasha, Mitero, and Gatagati. Many of these rural systems serve vast populations in an area classified as semi-arid and already vulnerable to water scarcity," he said.

Kagiri condemned the repeated operations as “economic sabotage”, warning that such actions have severely disrupted lives in a region where water is essential for livestock keeping, small-scale farming, and household use.

“It is disturbing that an institution mandated to safeguard water resources has instead become a direct threat to water accessibility in our region,” he said. 

Although WRA has not issued an official explanation for the raid, community leaders believe the destruction may be linked to an ongoing standoff over a proposed increase in water usage charges.

"WRA has been pushing to raise water abstraction fees from *Sh0.50 to Sh2.50 per cubic meter, a move that was introduced without adequate public participation," he said.

Kagiri said the tariff increment violates constitutional principles of transparency and inclusivity, noting that the community has repeatedly requested stakeholder consultations before any changes are implemented.

“Instead of engaging the public, they have resorted to unlawful actions that jeopardise lives and livelihoods,” he said.

The Mutitu Water Project has been embroiled in a two-year leadership dispute that culminated in a High Court ruling on October 17.

Justice Magare Kizito affirmed the legitimacy of the project’s leadership and ordered the Mutitu Water and Sanitation Company to account for all funds collected since 2009.

"Following the destruction, we plan to pursue legal action against individual officers and agencies involved in the incident. Any alleged regulatory concerns should be addressed through established legal channels—not through destruction of public infrastructure. If they believed any illegality existed, they should have followed the law. What they did instead was turn our catchment areas into crime scenes,” Kagiri said.

He emphasised that those found responsible must be held personally accountable to ensure such actions are never repeated. 

According to Mwangi Muriithi, a consumer and member of the Mutitu water project, with the water systems destroyed, thousands of households have been forced to travel long distances in search of water for cooking, cleaning, livestock, and small-scale farming.

The crisis has also triggered fears of increased water costs as alternative sources, including boreholes and water vendors, remain expensive for rural families.

"The destruction has exposed us to the harsh realities of water scarcity at a time when most parts of Kieni depend heavily on consistent water flow for agriculture and daily use," he said.