By M, KNA
A wave of frustration is sweeping across Kilifi County as residents decry an escalating water crisis that has left taps dry and families struggling to survive.
For many households, water flows for barely a week in an entire month, yet bills remain painfully high. Residents are now urging county leaders to stop politicking and deliver a lasting solution.
“This problem did not start yesterday,” said Kazungu Chengo, a resident of Malindi town. “We have endured water shortages even before devolution. We elected leaders to change things, but nothing is improving. We want permanent solutions.”
Ruben Ngonyo from Kakuyuni Ward in Malindi constituency described the situation as unbearable. He noted that from Ganze to Magarini, and from Malindi to Kaloleni, communities are united by one painful reality: a biting shortage of water.
“Water scarcity has become a chronic problem in Kilifi County, and it needs urgent action,” Ngonyo said. He questioned how the county can continue receiving billions of shillings annually yet fail to solve what he calls “the most basic of challenges.”
Ngonyo criticised Governor Mung’aro’s administration, arguing that projects launched by the governor mean little if people still lack water.
“What kind of leadership do we have? You are busy fighting political battles while people are suffering. We want our leaders to settle the water issue once and for all,” he urged. He added that in Kakuyuni, water flows only twice a week, a situation that has also hurt local businesses.
Women across the county say the crisis has become unbearable. Many run small businesses — food stalls, salons, and laundry services — which depend entirely on water. With no reliable supply, livelihoods are collapsing.
From Malindi, Mama Fatuma Mohammad echoed the frustrations, saying women have suffered the most. “For a woman to go a day without bathing, it becomes a real problem,” she said, describing the water scarcity as “a stubborn wound” in Kilifi.
“Some of us are even being shunned by our husbands because of lack of cleanliness,” she lamented. “A man can skip a bath, but a woman must maintain hygiene every day. How do we do that without water?”
Mama Fatuma also complained that water flows only twice weekly despite residents receiving high bills. She accused the County Executive in charge of Water of neglecting his duties, saying water vendors have exploited the crisis by hiking prices. A 20-litre jerrycan now costs Sh50, a price many consider “daylight robbery.”
“How do you bathe, cook, drink, and run a business when water is this expensive?” she asked. “We are being pushed to the edge.”
Residents warn that without urgent intervention; the crisis will continue to cripple development. “Water is life,” they say. “Without it, progress is impossible.”
As the shortage deepens, all eyes are now on the county government to deliver the solutions people desperately need.
A source at the Coast Water Works Development Agency who spoke on condition of anonymity said the water crisis had been occasioned by the disconnection of electricity at the Baricho Water Works in Malindi Sub County due to power bill arrears amounting to more than Sh100 million.
He said power was restored on Sunday night and pumping resumed but said this was just a temporary measure as electricity could be disconnected again when a new power bill is issued in the next one week.
Recently, Water Cabinet Secretary Eric Muuga toured the Baricho Water Works where he said the government was constructing a Sh600 million solar power plant to reduce the cost of pumping water at the main pumping station.
The water crisis is worse in the hinterland where no tap water is available and a majority of water pans in all the seven constituencies have dried up due to a prolonged dry spell.
Governor Gideon Mung’aro and Kenya Roads Board Chairperson, Aisha Jumwa have been trading accusations and counter accusations over the water crisis that has persisted for more than three months in Malindi, Watamu, Kilifi among other areas.
Jumwa is seeking to unseat Governor Mung’aro in the 2027 elections and is apparently using the crisis to discredit the incumbent, while Mung’aro has claimed that Jumwa owes the Malindi Water and Sewerage Company millions of shillings in unpaid water bills.