A section of the polluted Nairobi River [PHOTO/wikimedia.org]
The polluted waters from Nairobi rivers could be the reason city men, boys and pigs are likely to be impotent.
This is according to studies conducted at the University of Nairobi.
Findings show that mature male pigs (boars) that feed from the rivers in Kibera, Dandora and Mathare have developed abnormal testicles.
The studies show that many piglets develop testicles that don't descend into the scrotum, something researchers blame on their sewage-drinking mothers.
According to the findings, these rivers carry chemicals that cause infertility in the males of humans and other animals.
These chemicals also cause ovarian and breast cancers in women as well as prostate cancer in men.
Led by Prof Henry Mutembei and Dr Ambrose Kipyegon Ng'eno, the researchers say that food produced by water from these rivers, including sukumawiki, could also hurt male fertility.
"We are proposing a major study to establish the effects of these chemicals on human food, including vegetables, milk, meat, and eggs," Mutembei said.
"We started investigating the issue following complaints by pig farmers in Nairobi that too many of their male piglets had retained testicles," explained Mutembei.
"We investigated and found 10 per cent of male piglets in the areas of Dandora, Mathare, and Kibera indeed had retained testicles," he added.