Nairobi County Ordered to Pay Dandora Waste Pickers KSh 25.8 Million

The Environment and Land Court at Milimani has awarded Ksh 25.8 million in damages to 1,032 waste pickers working at the Dandora dumpsite after finding that their constitutional rights were violated through prolonged exposure to air pollution.

In a judgment delivered on Wednesday, January 4, Justice Anne Omollo ruled in favour of the waste pickers against the Nairobi County Government and the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA).

Omollo held both institutions responsible for regulatory and administrative failures that exposed the petitioners to harmful environmental conditions.

A class-action lawsuit, which was filed by waste pickers at the Dandora cycle site on September 19, 2023, stated that “Since there have been no intervention efforts over the time it has continued, unchecked air pollution from the Dandora cycle waste dump has exposed them to serious health risks and affected their housing conditions.”

Court Finds Multiple Constitutional Breaches

In her determination, Justice Omollo found that the respondents had “breached several fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution,” faulting both the county government and NEMA for failing to discharge their respective mandates.

The Judicial Branch determined that the Nairobi County Government was guilty of violating the right of the petitioners to have a clean and healthy environment, along with their other rights to dignity, to have the highest level of health available, to have fair administrative action, and to be governed effectively by the law.

The Court also recognized that the right to live in an environmentally sound way is not just a conceptual right; it is an enforceable right against any entity, particularly for those who have to find their livelihood and who therefore must live in proximity to the source of the pollution created by waste removal and disposal.

In addition, Judge Omollo found that the conditions under which the waste pickers in Dandora operate require a higher degree of protection from the government authorities responsible for monitoring and regulating the waste removal and disposal processes.

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NEMA and Nairobi County Poor Oversight

Justice Omollo found that the NEMA had not been able to execute its duties to protect the environment, to ensure compliance with regulations, and to prevent the pollution of the environment.

In this case, the NEMA’s failure to act to regulate the persistent pollutant in the air, in the form of municipal waste, constituted a violation of a number of constitutional provisions.

Justice Omollo stated that long-term exposure to the pollution emanating from the Dandora Dump was both foreseeable and avoidable.

The Respondents had ample knowledge of the dangers of long-term exposure to a polluted environment yet did not provide effective remedies to prevent exposure.

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Compensation Awarded to 1,032 Petitioners

As compensation, the court awarded each of the 1,032 waste pickers Ksh 25,000, bringing the total damages payable by the Nairobi County Government to Ksh 25,800,000.

Justice Omollo stated that the award was intended not only to compensate the victims but also to vindicate violated rights and signal that environmental neglect carries legal consequences.

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