Kabatini Member of County Assembly (MCA) Paul Thuo has warned of the drying up of Mathare river as illegal logging continues at Bahati forest.
The MCA said that a timber dealer was logging at the river’s catchment area without authorisation from the local administration.
River Mathare is a source of water for residents of Kabatini and Murunyu areas.
“There was an earlier attempt to cut down the trees early this year but the same was stopped after uproar from the locals. The current tree felling began on Thursday morning,” he said.
The MCA claimed that despite informing the Nakuru North acting deputy county commissioner over the matter, the timber dealer has carried on with the exercise, risking the river drying up and threatening the livelihood of thousands who depend on the river.
The concern comes in the wake of spirited fight by the Kenya Forest Service (KFS) to rehabilitate major water towers in the county.
Thuo has now called upon KFS management to investigate the logging exercise.