Panic has engulfed six villages in Gatundu North, Kiambu following heavy rains pondering the area around the Karimenu II dam following threats to their homes.
Hundreds of residents in Gituamba, Kiriko, Kanyoni, Iruri, Gathanji and Buchana say they are staring at a tragedy after the water levels increased around their homesteads, as some of the structures among them pit latrines sank, and open kitchens submerged.
Athi Water Works Development Agency has said that the water reservoir is already full and spilling. In an update, the agency said the dam capacity is at 22.6 billion litres with the reservoir undersigned to supply water to Gatundu, Ruiru, Juja, Tatu City, Githurai and parts of Nairobi.
Villagers told journalists that most of the affected families are those living around the dam’s buffer zone. Led by Joseph Muiruri, the residents decried that some homes are no longer habitable after they developed huge cracks that residents blame on the close proximity to the dam.
Most of the pit latrines in the villages have caved in as a result of being filled with water from the dam.