Mukuru kwa Njenga residents have asked Nairobi governor Mike Sonko to move swiftly and assist them to fight bedbugs.

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The residents on Wednesday told the Standard that the bugs have invaded most homes and have rendered them sleepless nights."We are suffering sleepless nights. The nasty animals keep us awake with an itch that cannot be ignored," one resident identified as Michelle said.

She said the infestation has been in the slum area for a while but has been ignored. 

"As we speak we are suspecting witchcraft. Normal infestation is just a matter of hygiene but here the case is different. We have sprayed will all manner of insecticides and anything that we have been told, but the more we spray the more they multiply," she said.

Michelle who is a furniture dealer said the majority of the slum dwellers are now embarrassed and can rarely invite visitors with fears of spreading the menace to other places.

Previously there has been such invasion in Nakuru, Murang'a and Lamu counties with residents calling on the national government to intervene.

A resident by name Lucy Wambui said it is high time they sought interventions from other places. 

"This bedbug infestation can only be addressed by officers from governor Sonko's office. There are health officials who can assess and advise accordingly," she said.

"The worst is that bugs are a poor man's burden thus if you cannot afford a professional fumigator, they will have their way with you," she said. 

Fredrick on his side said given Nairobi’s past dismal record in disaster responsiveness to anything, the bedbug menace should not be ignored.

"They are with the rich, the poor, in public transport, luggage, and every conceivable crevice. A single bed bug is enough to create a generation of others,” he said.