The National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) on Tuesday, February 25, ordered the Nairobi City County Government to remove the garbage dumped at Kenya Power’s offices in Nairobi.

Their demands, listed with two others, came amidst a standoff behind the Johnson Sakaja-led county government and the power company over pending bills worth billions of shillings.

“We hereby demand that you (Nairobi City County) remove your garbage from this site (Kenya Power offices). This is not a waste disposal site. We do not want the garbage there,” noted an NEMA official.

NEMA, while stressing their directive noted that the garbage was polluting the environment surrounding the Kenya Power offices which encompassed residential and commercial areas.

A photo collage of a garbage heap and trucks from Nairobi County government outside Stima Plaza in Nairobi on February 24, 2025.

Photo

Screengrab/CitizenTV/Kahawa

“The smell, you know, does not respect boundaries. There are residential houses, eateries, some hotels, and business premises that are affected. Although we heard there was a conflict, we are ending up with a situation where other parties unrelated to the conflict are affected,” the official added.

On Monday, February 24, images and videos obtained by Kenyans.co.ke showed garbage trucks, allegedly from the Nairobi County Government, blocking entryways leading to Stima Plaza in Nairobi.

Alongside the garbage trucks, massive heaps of waste were piled up at the entrance of the building that serves as Kenya Power’s headquarters.

In a press statement issued at Stima Plaza, KPLC’s management confirmed that several company-owned vehicles had also been clamped by county government officers over claims of unpaid parking fees.

The morning incident was described by the company’s management as a retaliatory attack by the Nairobi City County Government.

The standoff was triggered after the county government allegedly blocked a sewer line, resulting in waste spilling into KPLC's premises. This action was reportedly in response to the utility company’s decision to disconnect the power supply over an unpaid debt owed by the County Government of Nairobi. This has since been disputed by the county government, with the Finance Director dismissing claims of a Ksh3 billion debt accumulated over a period of years.

Aside from getting rid of the garbage, NEMA demanded that the county government ‘cover’ its garbage trucks, noting that the open trucks contributed to environmental pollution.

“When you look at that waste, it is not carried properly because those vehicles are not covered. Even when they are moving on our streets, the waste will be blown by the wind and will spill onto our streets. So that is also an order—that the waste should be moved properly,” NEMA asserted.

The authority also called for the county government to obtain licences from NEMA as required by law.

NEMA offices in Nairobi, Kenya.

Photo

Wkimedia Commons