For nearly two decades, Stephen Nzioka and his family made do with a shared pit latrine outside their home in Mukuru kwa Njenga, one of Nairobi’s largest informal settlements. The toilet was crowded, unhygienic, and frequently full. The worst part, he says, was the smell, so potent it kept potential tenants away and reduced income from his modest rental property.
Now, that story has changed.
Thanks to a partnership between the Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company (NCWSC), the Athi Water Works Development Agency (AWWDA), and WSUP, Nzioka’s home in the Vietnam area of Mukuru is among the first to benefit from a simplified sewer system bringing last-mile sanitation access to low-income neighbourhoods.
“This has changed how we live,” said Nzioka, a father of three who has lived in Mukuru for 18 years. “Our toilet is clean, inside the compound, and doesn’t smell. That alone has made a big difference.”
Before the sewer connection, Nzioka’s tenants shared a single pit latrine with numerous neighbouring households. When it filled, which it often did, coordinating contributions for pit emptying was a bureaucratic and financial headache. Manual emptiers had to be paid in cash, money that many couldn’t afford on short notice. Meanwhile, the stench drove away tenants from rooms near the latrine, cutting into his income.
“It could take weeks just to agree on how to pay for emptying,” Nzioka said. “And nobody wanted to live near the toilet.”
Today, the situation is reversed. With the installation of a simplified sewer line running beneath his compound, Nzioka has built a private, sewer-connected toilet shared only with his tenants. It’s inside the plot, tiled, easy to clean, and importantly, odour-free.
“It has made my plot more attractive,” he said. Tenants don’t move out. And I don’t lose rent because of the toilet.”
His story is one of many that underline a quiet sanitation revolution happening in Nairobi’s dense informal settlements. While Kenya has made progress in water access, sanitation, particularly safe, dignified toilets, lags far behind. In low-income areas like Mukuru, conventional sewer infrastructure is often too expensive or logistically impossible to implement. The simplified sewer model, which uses shallower trenches and narrower pipes, offers a scalable, cost-effective alternative.
In many slums, toilets are more than just about hygiene; they’re a symbol of stability, dignity, and economic opportunity. For structure owners like Nzioka, a sewered toilet isn’t just a household convenience; it’s a competitive advantage.
“We used to think flushing toilets were only for people in the estates,” Nzioka said with a grin. “Now I just flush and don’t worry.”
That simple act of flushing waste away instead of shovelling it out signals a profound shift for communities like Mukuru. And for families like Nzioka’s, it means a healthier home, a safer childhood, and a future with fewer compromises.
As demand for better living conditions continues to rise in Nairobi’s informal settlements, the lesson from Vietnam village is clear: a clean toilet can change everything.