Some Runda residents are protesting alleged misuse of over Sh700 million per year by their association, whose managers they accuse of locking out specific members from its leadership positions.
They say they have never been presented with an audit report of how the money, which is equivalent to annual allocations to the Constituency Development Fund for seven constituencies, is being utilized by the Runda Association.
They also accuse the entity of enlisting them as members without their consent and charging them for non-water services through its registered water company, Runda Water Limited (RWL), even though some of them get these services privately. These charges are added below the water bill on receipts issued by RWL.
Dr. Rael Lubasi, who has lived in Runda for 20 years, is not amused by this arrangement and despite sending a resignation letter from the association as a member on January 17, RWL is still slapping her with bills for security, road maintenance, garbage collection, street maintenance, and water infrastructure rehabilitation.
She found herself listed as a member of the association though she had never signed anything to approve her enrollment.
When she was locked out of becoming a member of the association’s committee, she resigned and hired private security and garbage collection services.
In her resignation letter, she also listed the association’s failure to accord members a fair chance to participate in the association’s management, discrimination against first-time applicants for elective positions, and denial of access to critical information that affects members’ affairs.
The total charges for non-water-related services average Sh5,904 per month for each of the association’s 10,300 members. By Tuesday, June 14, Dr. Lubasi had accumulated over Sh20,000 in unpaid bills though she had formally resigned from the association months earlier.
Her lawyer Mungai Kalande wrote to the RWL protesting the bills for non-water services.
“You are very much aware the non-water related charges are illegal and unlawful and contrary to the provision of the Water Act and are currently the subject of a long pending water Board,” Mr. Kalande wrote.
Several other residents also told how they have suffered under the association and its water company. Many feel helpless because “many people do not believe that the rich residents of Runda can be overcharged for some services”, one of the locals said.
“We have a clique of people who are really messing us up. A majority of people who [live] in Runda are expatriates who do not want to be involved in any conflict. As such, the minority, us, are left helpless,” said Charles Magara.
He complained about exploitation by RWL and its failure to explain what they called exorbitant charges.
“The charges by Runda Water are almost three times normal rates. I pay an average of Sh6,000 yet before moving here (Runda), I used to lease a house and it had a garden and my bill never went beyond Sh3,000. They are doubling the charges,” he said.
Every month, he pays an average of Sh10,000 for water, half of which is the actual bill and the rest for non-water-related charges. He also accused the association of failing to account for the hundreds of millions collected from the members every month.
“It is not possible that the garbage collectors consume all that money. In matters of roads, members get ballast from Kampala Road to fill the potholes themselves. They (association leaders) are doing nothing. Someone is eating the money,” he said.
He added that most members do not know the criteria used for electing the association’s leaders and that those who raise concerns are blocked from running for leadership positions.
Members also wonder what happens when they take the association to court because “their lawyers often disappear every time the matter is taken to court”.
Joseph Kariuki complained that the association treats members like children yet they bought their property without involving the association.
“Our main problem is Runda Water. They do not listen to anyone’s complaints; they just assume they can control water how they want. They are charging us heavily and they do not care,” he said.
He said the route to justice had been tough and that most people had resigned to their fate. He and other residents fear that the association has such influence that it can interfere with their court cases.
Advocate Kalande revealed that he is handling several cases for Runda residents raising the same concerns against the association and RWL. He expressed his frustration with the Water Services Regulatory Board (Wasreb), it is treating the issue in a cavalier manner.
Seeing nothing was being done by the Runda Association and RWL, Dr. Lubasi wrote to Wasreb in February but did not get any response. She then wrote a complaint letter to the Commission on Administrative Justice (the Ombudsman Office) on March 18. Its Legal Officer Owino Kojo wrote to Wasreb asking it to urgently investigate the matter and furnish them with a report.
It is only then that Dr. Lubasi was invited for a meeting on April 25, which she attended alongside her lawyer.
It was agreed that Wasreb would respond to their queries on whether it had licensed RWL, approved its water tariffs, and authorized it to levy non-water-related charges, specifically the Runda Association Fees.
They also wanted to know whether Wasreb was aware RWL obtained 75 per cent of its water from the Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company (Nairobi Water) but charges residents five times more for the same water, and whether it had
