The Ngong River has heard many promises. On this day it heard feet — at least 362 people walking, banners lifted, whistles cutting the air, ninety-two groups and organisations from the network plus partners, and around seventy children moving in a bright, restless ribbon that made adults smile in spite of themselves.
ETCO walked as part of Zone 2, through Kibera and Lang’ata Constituency, because a river belongs to everyone it touches. The message was simple and stubborn: regeneration needs the community inside the plan, not outside it — especially where government evacuation orders and El Niño rains have already taken homes and headlines.
Commissioner Eva from the Nairobi Rivers Commission addressed the crowd, outlining how government intends to work the rivers — including why recent evacuations along Nairobi and Mathare happened under executive order meant to protect lives during destructive rains. People listened with arms folded and questions ready; that tension is not failure — it is democracy sweating.
She urged local leaders to intensify outreach before the next rainy season, because climate action is not only policy; it is warning a mother to move a mattress, a youth to clear a drain, a chief to fight for proper facilitation when people are asked to shift. We echo that call. Walk with us next time — not for spectacle, but so decision-makers see faces attached to riverbanks.
