Oyani: Residents of Oyani in South Kanyamkago Ward-Uriri Sub County are urging both the national and county governments to address the severe water backflow issues stemming from the Migori-Kuria-Transmara (MIKUTRA) water treatment plant. The backflow has inundated agricultural lands, affecting 44 households and covering 42.37 acres of land, which has become unproductive for farming.
According to Kenya News Agency, the representative of the residents, Alfred Mdeizi, highlighted the community’s grievances during a meeting at the MIKUTRA water supply and treatment plant. Mdeizi detailed that the water treatment facility, operational since 2012 and intended to serve the towns of Migori, Kuria, and Transmara, has instead caused substantial agricultural damage in Oyani by redirecting water onto farmlands. This mismanagement has rendered the lands waterlogged and unusable for farming activities.
Mdeizi emphasized the lack of community involvement in the planning stages of the water project, which was financed by t
he Africa Development Bank and executed by the Lake Victoria Water Services Agency. He recounted the community’s attempts to advocate for inclusion during the project’s inception, which were overlooked. Despite legal efforts by the community in 2012 to halt the project pending more inclusive planning, the court in Kisii allowed the project to proceed under the assurance of community involvement in planning and mitigation, an assurance that was never fulfilled.
The problems, as Mdeizi explained, are exacerbated during the rainy season when the treatment plant’s inflow causes additional backflows, blocking access routes and leading to flooding of farms. The concrete pipes, originally used for water conveyance to the plant, have been leaking over the years, worsening the waterlogging issue on adjacent farms.
Local residents, including Peter Madegwa and Paul Owiti, shared their personal losses due to the water mismanagement. Madegwa has lost the use of an entire acre of his land, while Owiti’s three-acre plot h
as been partially transformed into a makeshift river, destroying crops and threatening the future usability of the land.
The community has now taken legal action, filing 44 cases in the Land and Environment Court at the Migori Law Courts, though they are open to an out-of-court resolution if the project implementers engage with them to rectify the situation.
