Infrastructure

Politics Spills into Sh13bn Ndarugu Dam Project

Gatundu residents claim the dam will render the area uninhabitable.

Updated on

October 3, 2023

Locals protest against the Ndarugo 2 dam project in January 2023. (Photo: Courtesy)

The long-delayed Ndarugu 2 Dam project in Gatundu North, Kiambu County, now faces further delays as locals demand compensation before allowing it to proceed.

The Sh13 billion dam, which will be built in Kanjuku, Mwimuto, Watathi, Gathaiti and Gatei villages, is among the 100 mega-dams that the government plans to build countrywide to boost food production and water supply.

Local farmers and people who have lived in Gatundu for decades, however, are not persuaded by that idea and have vowed not to cede their land for the project.

The residents claim the dam is likely to render Gatundu North constituency uninhabitable due to cold weather and the collapse of agricultural activities.

Compensation

They also decry a lack of adequate consultation by the government and low compensation for people who will be displaced by the Ndarugo 2 Dam project.

Over the weekend, during Dr. Ruto’s tour of Gatundu North Constituency, the locals urged the president to ensure the outstanding Sh4.2 billion payment owed to them is settled before the state proceeds with its plans.

Those affected by the Sh24 billion Karimenu II Dam construction expressed their dismay, noting that one year later, they still haven’t received compensation.

President Ruto urged the people to allow the works to proceed even as the government looked for money to compensate the people—a request they rejected to his face.

“You have rejected it [the dam]. How do you expect me to develop the area? You want money first?” he asked, to which the people gave a resounding yes.

Earlier this year, Gatundu residents expressed their concerns over the ‘little money’ that the government wants to pay as compensation to the affected landowners.

“The government wants to pay us Sh2 million for an acre, yet you cannot get such land with that little money anywhere else. They want to impoverish us or make us refugees in our homeland,” Nancy Mwihaki, a resident, said.

Rates and guidelines

The government, however, said the contractor would proceed with construction work and nothing would stop the project that seeks to benefit the country.

“The dam will only affect about 200 people, a small number that we will be able to compensate following government rates and guidelines,” Water Cabinet Secretary Alice Wahome said during a tour of Karimenu Dam in January.

The CS asked brokers to stop inciting the locals against the project.

“The problem is not the owners. Ndarugu people are Ok, but there are speculators, and I want to give bad news to you because you will not stop us,” she said.

Ms Wahome disclosed that President Ruto was keenly following the progress of the Ndarugu 2 Dam project and that the National Lands Commission was in the process of gazetting required land before other processes took place.

“These instructions are directly coming from the Head of State who is keeping a close eye on the progress of the project,” she added.

In January, officials from Athi Water Services were nearly beaten up by angry locals after they attempted to collect soil samples from various homes for testing.

The locals, who had gathered to emphasize their stand on the project, forced the officials out of the area while making anti-project chants and burning old tyres.