Residents of Kwa Rhonda slums in Nakuru West Sub-County have called on the county Health department and the police to apprehend individuals without proper latrines in their homes to avert a cholera outbreak.
The residents expressed fears that the ongoing heavy rains portended doom for them if such individuals were not arrested noting that chances of re-emergence of the disease were high.
According to Ken Onyango a resident in the area, several of his neighbors do not have proper latrines, a situation he admitted could easily plunge the semi-urban settlement into a health crisis amid heavy rains.
He called on health officials to carry a door-to-door inspection of the latrines situation in the slum and arrest those who found without proper toilets.
"I can't pretend that I share my latrine with neighbors who do not have any. However, what will become of the latrine if the rains continue to pour? I have told the neighbors to build their own latrines, but they wouldn't listen. I think the ministry of health in partnership with the area chief and the police should find a way of telling thes people to build one," he said.
The same sentiments were echoed by Victorine Andisi who said that the issue of toilets was getting out of hand to the extent of some of his neighbors defecating on open grounds at night, a situation she admitted could easily trigger an outbreak of diseases.
Hers is a call to the police to arrest such neighbors adding that she would willingly name a few she claims she has already encountered.
"Can't they build latrines or they want us to go through the same tribulations we went through in the mid-year when cholera struck. We would like the police to step in and arrest these mindless people because I know some of them who are defiant," she stated.
Area Chief Stephen Koech however, warned that they will soon carry out a door-to-door campaign to flush out those without proper latrines.
"We don't want to go through whatever we went through in June and July this year when cholera struck us and that is why I am waiting for word from the county ministry of health to kickstart the exercise and bring such errant individuals to book," he said.