Nairobi water company tussles with EPZ over pipe ownership

Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company is entangled in an ownership dispute with the Export Processing Zones Authority (EPZA) over a six-kilometre supply pipe along Mombasa Road.

EPZA has filed a suit against the water provider seeking to block it from interfering with the pipe it claims to have built in the 1990s as part of a supply supplement project. The parastatal buys water from NCWSC, but owns the infrastructure that runs to its Athi River premises.

The firm claims Nairobi Water last month destroyed a section of the pipe before installing a new bulk metre and claiming ownership of a six kilometre stretch.

EPZA has since replaced the equipment with its own, but wants NCWSC stopped from interfering with the property.

“Although EPZA has since removed NCWSC’s bulk metre and repaired its main trunk pipeline, NCWSC is threatening to repeat the destruction and to unlawfully take over the six kilometre portion. EPZA’s Athi River programme will collapse unless NCWSC is urgently stopped by this court,” EPZA said.

Nairobi Water is yet to respond to the suit, but has been given until March 23 to file a reply in court.

Justice Mary Gitumbi declined to issue temporary orders stopping NCWSC from interfering with the pipe until the matter is heard.

EPZA boss Cyrille Nabutola has said in court papers that the metre switch was done by 30 uniformed NCWSC staff, who were guarded by armed administration police officers.

After being issued with a water interruption notice an NCWSC employee disclosed to his firm that the state-owned supplier intended to possess the six-kilometre pipe.