JB Muturi: Recurrent Nairobi Floods Show Leadership Failure

By Janet Chepkurui

Images of flooded roads, stranded families and bodies retrieved from vehicles have once again exposed Nairobi’s vulnerability to heavy rains and the high human cost of failing infrastructure.

So far, authorities have retrived over 20 bodies from vehicles and trenches following the heavy Friday rains across the capital.

Democratic Party leader Justin Muturi described the situation as a predictable crisis, saying the capital cannot continue to suffer devastating floods whenever heavy rains fall.

Muturi said the latest disaster had left families mourning loved ones and many residents counting heavy losses after homes, businesses and vehicles were damaged or destroyed in the flooding.

“This is a painful and sobering moment for our country. I extend my deepest condolences to the families who have lost their loved ones and to the many residents now counting devastating losses,” Muturi said.

He warned that repeated flooding in Nairobi points to a deeper infrastructure crisis that requires urgent intervention from both national and county authorities.

Muturi said persistent drainage failures in the capital undermine Kenya’s ambitions for economic transformation and modern urban development.

“A government that cannot fix drainage in its capital cannot convincingly speak about first-world transformation,” he said.

The party leader called for urgent collaboration between the national government led by President William Ruto and Johnson Sakaja to implement lasting solutions.

He urged authorities to fast-track the Nairobi River Regeneration Programme and begin comprehensive sewerage and drainage works across the city to prevent further loss of life and property during heavy rains.

Muturi said Nairobi, as the country’s capital, should not continue experiencing predictable flooding each rainy season, stressing that leadership must move beyond promises to decisive action.