The popular Nairobi River source is a quaking bog on a 30-hectare piece of land.
Ondiri swamp, only a kilometre from Kikuyu town has its uniqueness.
It is the only quaking bog (a wet, spongy and shaky ground that has no foundation in the country and it is the second deepest wetland on the continent after another in Douala, Cameroon.
Deforestation has however destroyed the ecosystem where banana planting has replaced the indigenous trees that once covered the entire ecosystem.
Ondiri residents have urged the environmentalists to take action that will see its preservation taking place.
“It is a high time we have our swamp protected. If not so, we will be having a very big problem as Kikuyu residents,” says John Karano.
This comes at a time when the country is likely to face water scarcity as the Ndakaini Dam water project worth Sh6 billion remains a controversy.
According to the Nation, hydrologists say the swamp is 10 kilometres deep.
It was named ‘old lake’ by a white man during colonial times which locals corrupted to Ondiri.
The swamp serves as an underground outlet to Lake Naivasha making it a perennial bog.
The swamp’s water is used by locals and institutions while road companies constructing the bypass rely on it.
People also flock the swamp as they believe that the water has healing and soothing powers.