Fear and panic have gripped residents in Varsityville estate in Ruiru, Kiambu County after Uhuru dam burst its banks following a heavy downpour.
Developers of an upcoming city which is owned by the Kenyatta family have been blamed over the Thursday’s incident that caused water to flood homes.
The residents are counting losses after the rainwater flooded their homes and damaged property of unknown value.
Flooding in one of the houses in Ruiru. [Source/brainechild/Twitter]
The ongoing construction on the Northlands City has been blamed as the developers are using water from Uhuru Dam.
Speaking to Nation, Caroline Gitari, one of the affected residents said they spent the night in the cold after rainwater flooded their houses at around 1 am.
“There is an obstruction that has forced water to flow into Varsityville estate and other surrounding areas. We have not slept. As we speak, we are stranded with children. Our houses are a big mess,” said Gitari as quoted by Nation.
Another resident, Catherine Koech said they are now in fear that they could contract waterborne diseases after the area flooded.
“The water might come into contact with our underground sewage systems which, when consumed by our children, could result in diseases like cholera,” said Koech.
The residents had in the past made several complaints and wrote to Northlands City under the care of Brookside Dairy after they raised the wall at the dam’s spillway to accommodate more water.
They feared that the raised wall which restricted the flow of water could cause flooding during heavy rain periods and wanted the matter addressed before a disaster could occur in the area.
“In our various meetings with you, we expressed our reservations on the ''containment wall'' blocking storm water from our estate into the natural course, which is within your property,” the residents said in a letter dated September 17, 2015, as quoted by Nation.
The locals now want now the developers to create a spillway for the flood water and lower the level of the dam’s spillway to avert a situation where the water levels in the dam increase and burst the banks.