“There are days when dead human bodies have been found dumped in the river. It’s scary,” she told Wananchi Reporting.
Achieng lives in a Mabati house in Dandora.
Her house appears to hug the river – and she is not alone.
At night she can hear the river flowing grudgingly like an overloaded truck. That’s just how close her house is to the filthy river.
Although she does not mention it – it’s clear that living near Nairobi River is not for the fainthearted.
“People come here to smoke bhang. Others even plant it,” she says.
“I hear criminals sometimes hide in the bushes or the rocks as they plan their illicit activities,” she says.
Interestingly – according to Adhiambo – the same river also serves as a meeting point for lovers who have no place to meet – especially those living in single rooms in the crowded slums bordering the river.
“Some are just illicit relationships that have to be kept away from the nosy neighbours,” she says – adding that a lot of relationships have been hatched at the banks of the river.
“There is nothing wrong with that,” she says with a rather shy smile.
The stories of ‘love brewed on the banks of this river’ do not, however, take away the fact that the river is hurting.
Residents say the river labours with all manner of filth; a thick cocktail of oil from factories, raw sewage, tonnes of garbage from every corner of Nairobi, twigs, dead human bodies, plastic, used car tyres, scrap metal and just about anything.
The load, most of it toxic, have formed the tendency of accompany the river as it meanders through bushes and rock boulders as it snakes its way across the many estates in Nairobi.
They say it’s not uncommon to bump into a dead body of an animal or a human being.
“It’s a challenge raising children in this environment. Imagine your children seeing dead animals floating in the river! It is very scary,” says Adhiambo.
“I remember this time when my five-year-old daughter ran to me in the house in panic after she saw a dead cat floating in the waters.
“The incident has never left her mind. She thinks about it all the time,” says the mother of three.
The waters from this same river – especially whenever it rains – is used in construction works.
Others use the waters to irrigate their farms where they plant tomatoes, kales, spinach, arrowroots – and most of which end up in most kitchens in Nairobi.
Residents say that it’s a cycle – one that has defied time and even previous efforts to break.
They say the river carries a tonne of stories; of secrets that only those who interact with it daily understand.
The residents are asking the National and county government to replicate the efforts of the late Minister for Environment John Michuki back in 2009 when nearly three million tons of solid waste was removed from Nairobi River and its surroundings according.