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‘Nguruwe chokora’ will make you rethink your love for pork and sausages

By Kanyiri Wahito September 12th, 2019 1 min read

The presence of ‘nguruwe chokora’ or ‘nguruwe mwitu’ in the suburbs of Nairobi is getting out of control with some pig keepers in the county continue to leave their pigs to roam freely in the city neigbourhoods.

In Eastlands, nguruwe dry fry, wet fry to roasted ribs and boiled heads are a common delicacy to many city residents.

FAVOURITE DELICACY

“I prefer my pork fried wet with a thick gravy soup, hot chili served with ugali,” said one Kamu Njama at his pork joint in Mathare North.

What many pork lovers in Nairobi don’t know though is that their favorite delicacy may just have been fattened for slaughter in the filthiest environments imaginable.

Burst sewer lines, ‘flying toilets’ dumpsites and decaying market produce remain to be the favourite feeding grounds for the free roaming pigs of Nairobi.

Pigs scavenging on untreated sewage and fecal mater risking contracting waterborne diseases and transferring it to humans who feed on pork at Mathare North, Nairobi on September 3, 2019. PHOTO | KANYIRI WAHITO
Pigs scavenging on untreated sewage and fecal mater risking contracting waterborne diseases and transferring it to humans who feed on pork at Mathare North, Nairobi on September 3, 2019. PHOTO | KANYIRI WAHITO

DUMPSITES

The sprawling Mathare North estate is one neighborhood that is infamous for ‘nguruwe chokora’ which are known for snorting their way into every available dumpsite.

The full glare of the filth the pigs are scavenging on is hidden behind the five to seven storey buildings directing untreated sewage to the Nairobi river riparian reserve.

Here, the pigs fight for fecal matter with ducks wading through untreated sewage in what could turn out to be one of the most disastrous health hazard through the transmission of waterborne diseases to humans who love pork dearly.

Uncooked pork could transfers harmful bacteria and worms to humans finding pork irresistible.