A section of locals in Soy Village, Soy Sub County has appealed to the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) to intervene and ensure open huge trenches in the area are filled.
The locals claim the trenches were left open by an international Construction Company that had set its base in the area.
Led by Paul Kemoi, the locals told journalists on Saturday that the trenches had caused the deaths of at least two children in the last two years.
The two drowned in the trenches that the company had extracted road construction materials.
“NEMA should act and force the contractor involved to fill these holes,” said Kemoi whose farm had been used by the Company.
He notes that he had entered into a legal agreement with the construction firm to seal and refill the burrow pits but engineers from the company went missing after completing constructions of the roads in the area without filling the holes.
The locals are now worried that with the rainy season approaching, safety of their children as well as themselves might be in danger.
“Despite our appeal to local leaders through NEMA nothing has been done to salvage the situation. The open pits continue to make residents vulnerable to accidents of falling into the pits,” said Kemoi.
“We want the county to erect barriers at the borders and not at every quarry. We also want Bahati residents to benefit from the levies collected from projects in the area,” added another local.
Cancel licenses
The open holes and trenches have also posed a health threat to the locals, with the holes now a breeding for mosquitoes.
“Cases of malaria spread in our area are increasing due to stagnant water in the left drenches,” Margret Cherono, a local told reporters at one of the affected areas.
In addition, Samson Rono, a local who lost his two children after drowning in one of the trenches asked the government to cancel licenses for all contractors who fail to fill holes after excavating construction material.
“It is unfortunate I have lost my two children due to negligence of a contractor who has failed to refill ditches after extracting construction material. The government must ban such contractors from operating in Kenya,” said Cherono.
“My only dairy cow drowned in this drench. My cry is for the government to intervene by filling these drenches before more lives iis claimed in the same trenches,” added Veronica Tororei.
Reached for a comment over the matter, Uasin Gishu County Director of NEMA, Solomon Kihiu said his office has received the complaint and that the matter was being handled accordingly.
Kihiu also warned that contractors who leave open drenches after extracting construction material risk being blacklisted by NEMA.
“We have not cleared the contractor in question. We are following the matter and soon a solution will be found. Due to failure by the contractor to refill the open holes in Soy we are yet to issue him a certificate of compliance,” said the NEMA official.
