President William Ruto has announced that the government will complete the clean-up exercise for the Nairobi River by January 2027, following a long period of waiting and anxiety among Nairobians.
Speaking during a service at the Church of Christ in Africa, Makadara, Nairobi, on Sunday, Ruto affirmed that the government was strongly focused on the completion of the exercise, despite the public criticism that the project had lagged behind the earlier promised dates.
''We have a very big project here. We will clean this river, and I already have a designated date. By January 2027, it shall have been completed," Ruto announced. According to Ruto, the project will cost Ksh40 billion, but State House on its website puts the cost of the project, which is part of the Climate WorX Programme, at a cost of Ksh50 billion.
Ruto revealed that a bigger chunk of the Ksh40 billion allocated to the project will go towards the construction of the sewerage system from households to make Nairobi a modern city.
President William Ruto (centre), accompanied by other leaders including Nairobi Deputy Governor John Njoroge, Mark Mwenje (Embakasi West), and Nairobi Women Rep Esther Passaris, during a church service at Church of Christ in Africa, Makadara, Nairobi on June 8, 2025.
PCS
"We have invested a lot of resources into the project, amounting to almost Ksh40 billion towards the exercise. A big chunk of the money will go towards the sewerage system construction," he said.
The initiative, backed by the Office of the President, targets not just river regeneration but also sewer upgrades, flood control infrastructure, and settlement planning along the river corridor.
In addition to the national allocation, the Green Climate Fund had earlier approved Ksh1 billion in late 2023 to support rehabilitation planning in the Upper Athi River catchment area, which feeds into the Nairobi River system.
The combined efforts are aimed at restoring the river's ecosystem, improving sanitation, and preventing further encroachment and pollution.
The vision to transform the river into a clean water body has faced constant setbacks, among them protests by residents who have resisted evictions to pave the way for the reserves.
In March, President Ruto's vision to transform Nairobi’s rivers faced yet another setback after residents living nearby raised grievances following a notice to surrender their land.
Speaking during an engagement session on March 19, residents of Dagoretti and Westlands who live near these rivers expressed strong opposition to the proposal, stating that they had not been consulted.
Meanwhile, Ruto revealed that following the completion of the first phase of the Northern Collector tunnel, the government will embark on the construction of phases two and three to ensure Nairobi residents have more access to clean water.
In March 2024, a Chinese company working on the project completed Phase 1 of the Northern Collector Tunnel—an 11.7 km tunnel diverting water from Murang’a’s Gikigie, Irati, and Maragua rivers to Thika Dam—boosting Nairobi’s water supply by an estimated 140 million liters per day and benefiting over 1.2 million residents.
Undated photo of social workers cleaning Nairobi River
File
