A non-governmental organization has petitioned for Nakuru Governor Susan Kihika and Nakuru Water and Sanitation Services Company (Nawasco) Managing Director James Ng’ang’a to be jailed for six months for contempt of court.

In a case filed at the Environment and Lands Court, Baboon Project Kenya accuses Kihika and Ng’ang’a of defying a court order issued on September 26, 2024, that permanently prohibited waste disposal into Lake Nakuru.

The suit names the County Government of Nakuru and the Nakuru Water and Sanitation Services Company Limited as respondents.

The court order, issued by the Environment and Lands Court, was intended to stop the continued pollution of Lake Nakuru, but the NGO claims that waste disposal has persisted, damaging the ecosystem.

“… Susan Kihika being the Governor, officer, agent or servant of 1st respondent (County Government of Nakuru) be committed to prison for a term not exceeding 6 months for failing to comply with the order of this court made on 26th September 2024,” read the application in part.

Simon Mbuthia Gichohi, Director of Baboon Project Kenya notes that despite being aware of the order, the county government and the water company have refused to comply.

“They have continued to dispose of refuse, toxic chemicals, and industrial wastes into Lake Nakuru Basin,” read the suit.

Nakuru County Secretary Samuel Mwaura has objected to the application, arguing that the NGO has failed to provide evidence of contempt. “The petitioner has not proven any contempt against the governor,” Mwaura stated in his response.

Gichohi insists that the government’s actions are harming wildlife and the environment. He claims the illegal disposal of industrial waste into the lake is causing severe degradation of Lake Nakuru National Park, endangering species like the baboons that drink from its polluted waters.

The county government, Nawasco, and National Environment Management Authority (Nema) are said to have abdicated their constitutional mandate by allowing illegal discharge of toxic industrial waste into the Lake.

They noted that the county government is not compliant with the Wildlife Conservation Management Act as it continues to issue licences and title deeds allowing industries without any regard for the environment.

Nawasco in a response through it Managing Director James Ng’ang’a Gachathi said it does not in any way deal with industrial waste.

Ng’ang’a said the company does not have any statutory mandate to permit or license any person or entity to discharge from any commercial, industrial, institutional or any other premises effluents or industrial wastes into the environment including Lake Nakuru.

He, however, said any final discharge of wastewater from the company’s Waste Water Treatment Plant into Lake Nakuru is safe and meets the required standards of waste discharge that should be allowed into the environment.

Judge Ombwayo’s ruling underscored the right to clean and safe water as an integral part of the broader right to a healthy environment.

He stressed that the lake’s already toxic state could not excuse further pollution, placing the responsibility for refuse removal and waste management squarely on the county government.

In his final orders, Judge Ombwayo found the County Government, Nawasco, Nema, and the Attorney General guilty of failing to fulfill their constitutional obligation to protect the environment.