Street families residing and scavenging at the Mayungu dumpsite in Malindi town, Kilifi County now want it relocated for health reasons.
Led by Mrs Jane Kalu, the families numbering 100 said that they have never benefitted from the dumpsites over the years and that they are calling on the county government to start alternative income-generating activities for them.
All manner of garbage and waste is dumped in the area and a never-ending fire enables a continuous flow of toxic air as hazardous smoke bellows around the place and sometimes in a five-kilometre radius depending on the flow of the wind.
She called on the county government to relocate the dumpsite to save them from the health hazard posed.
During a visit to the dumpsite, journalists came face to face with the life of a scavenger as Mrs Kalu and her fellow scavengers had found a rotting slaughtered goat that they said they wash, cook and eat inside the net to shield themselves from flies.
Mr Ali Muhaso, 40 years old, said that he was born and bred at the dumpsite and that they never light the fire that burns the dumpsite but there has been a continuous fire that emits dangerous smoke.
He added that even the most dormant heaps of dirt contain continuous fire and when the county bulldozers arrive to flatten the area, then the fire gets exposed and a sharp inhaling smoke comes out.
Dickson Wekesa
