The clean-up of Nairobi River and its tributaries by the Nairobi County Government has intensified with yet another body being retrieved from the river on Saturday.
The Ng’arisha Jiji team discovered the body on Saturday morning inside Ngong River near Kware Ward in Embakasi South.
This brings to four the total number of bodies retrieved from Nairobi river and its tributaries since Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko launched the clean-up.
The team employed to clean Nairobi River found the body floating in the river on Saturday.
The four bodies have each been found in different locations.
“These are some of the challenges my people have been encountering while conducting massive cleaning of Nairobi River. I have called the police and they are assisting my people to remove the body from the river,” said Governor Sonko.
Embakasi South Sub-County Administrator, John Saruni who led the Ng’arisha Jiji team during the discovery of the body, said they believe the middle aged man could have died more than five days ago since the body had started decomposing.
“We came across the body at around 11am on Saturday morning and we managed to retrieve it before we alerted the police. We are now appealing to those living near river banks to take charge and stop polluting our rivers,” he said.
The body was taken to city mortuary.
Police are investigating the incident.
The Ngarisha Jiji initiative was launched last year by Governor Sonko and Nairobi County First Lady Primrose Mbuvi .
Their work entails unblocking the sewer lines, clearing mounds of garbage and promoting responsible garbage disposal.
The clean-up is focused on restoring Nairobi River and its tributaries including Ngong, Mathare, Mbagathi, Kirichwa Kubwa and Kirichwa Ndogo among others.
Last month, Sonko ordered the Nairobi Inspectorate Department to arrest individuals and industrial firms polluting Nairobi River and its tributaries.