Residents of Slaughter Slum in Mavoko sub-county demonstrated on Monday to demand closure of a slaughter house belonging to Machakos County government.
The residents demanded that the facility which is located at the slum be closed down until it's blocked sewer line was unblocked to avoid discharging sewerage on roads.
They said their attempts to address the matter with concerned authorities were futile hence had no alternative but to camp at the slaughter house until the problem is fixed.
“We are demonstrating against the slaughter house because of its state of poor sanitation, this facility has been a health hazard to this community for more than two years since its sewerage system was blocked,” said spokesman Samson Musando.
Musando said they will camp at the facility and continue paralyzing its operations as long as the county government delays to construct a sewer line for proper disposal of its wastes.
He said the situation affects health of their children and women forcing them to spend a lot of money in seeking health services especially in private hospitals in Athi River town and its environs.
“Our children are always sick most of the time since the facilities sewer line was blocked, they get infected whenever they use the roads where wastes from the slaughter house had been discharged on their way to school,” said Musando.
The residents wondered why National Environmental Management Authority, Machakos County office had failed to close down the abattoir long after it issued a notice even though it was still discharging its wastes in the open.
“Machakos government has closed down a private primary school in this slum alongside several pit latrines due to poor sanitation, we wonder why it cannot close down their own slaughter house that continues to pose health risks to the residents,” said Musando.
Musando said erosion of slaughtered livestock’s blood from the facility had completely ruined 2 kilometres of the road connecting the slum to a tarmacked road at Nyambura stage in Athi River town.
He said as residents they will stop eating meat from the facility because the slaughter house was dirty and unhygienic to avoid getting infections due to contaminated meat.
The facility slaughters cattle, sheep, goats and camels.
The demonstrators included youth, women, men and boda boda operators, all residents of the slum who said the dirty discharge from the facility had contaminated piped water which they depend on for domestic use.
The residents said they will not relent until the slaughterhouse is closed down or a sewer line constructed by the government to stop discharging its waste inappropriately.