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NMS shares picture of a duck in Nairobi River.

By By Chad Kitundu December 18th, 2020 2 min read

A picture of a duck swimming in the highly polluted Nairobi River near the Central Business District (CBD) which was shared on Twitter by the Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) has elicited mixed reactions from Kenyans on social media.

The photo appears to suggest that the government efforts to clean up the river are beginning to yield some fruits.

NMS said the duck was spotted swimming a few meters from the Globe Cinema Roundabout.

“A mallard duck swims in Nairobi River, metres away from the Globe Roundabout. Efforts by NMS, Min of Env., NEMA and KFS to seal all sources of pollution, untreated water, other wastes, to the River has given a new lease of life to the city’s water basin, aquatic life coming back,” they said.

The cleanup exercise of John Michuki Memorial Park, named after the former environment minister was launched in 2018 as part of the Nairobi city regeneration program following a directive by President Uhuru Kenyatta.

The park, which was initially known as the Mazingira Park, was renamed Michuki Park by the Ministry of Environment in 2012, in honour of the late John Michuki who pioneered the reclaiming of the park.

The head of state tasked the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) to clean up and seal all sources of pollution and discharge of untreated water into the river.

While opening the park in August the head of state said the recreational centre was only the first in a series of environmental rehabilitation programmes his government has initiated, not only in Nairobi but also across the country.

Since work to transform the 26-acre park, more than 20 bodies have been retrieved from the river and several residential and commercial entities shut down for discharging effluent into the river.

The park is situated along Nairobi River between the Globe Cinema Roundabout and the Museum Hill interchange.

Environment CS Keriako Tobiko earlier this year said the stretch from the National Museums of Kenya bridge to Globe Cinema Roundabout has become the cleanest part of the river.

“We have seen life coming back; birds, crocodiles, snails, and now even fish can be seen swimming in this stretch,” he said.

Kenyans online expressed mixed reactions to the photo of a duck swimming in the Nairobi River, with some saying they cannot believe it.

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