DNK International By Our Reporters,Milimani Court.
The High Court sitting in Milimani has awarded more than Sh25.8 million in damages to 1,032 waste pickers operating at the Dandora dumpsite
This is after finding the Nairobi County Government and the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) liable for violating their constitutional rights through prolonged air pollution.
In a judgment delivered on Thursday, Justice Anne Omollo ruled in favour of the waste pickers in Milimani ELCEPCC No. 3 of 2023.
The suit was filed by five petitioners Abigael Mamaye, Berryl Awuor, Phanice Okello, Leah Kahyange and David Ochieng on behalf of 1,032 individuals who earn a living at the Dandora dumpsite.
The petitioners, represented by advocate Ken Amondi, sued the Nairobi County Government and NEMA.
Amondi argued that years of uncontrolled waste management and toxic emissions at the dumpsite had exposed them to hazardous air pollution, endangering their health, dignity and livelihoods.
Justice Omollo found that the “respondents had failed in their constitutional and statutory obligations to protect the environment and safeguard public health.”
The court held that the continued operation of the dumpsite in its existing state amounted to a violation of the waste pickers’ fundamental rights under the Constitution.
The judge ruled that the respondents “breached Articles 10(2)(b), 26(3), 29(f), 42, 43(1)(d), 47, 69 and 232(1)(c) of the Constitution, which guarantee, among others, the right to a clean and healthy environment, the highest attainable standard of health, human dignity, fair administrative action, and principles of good governance.”
The court ordered the Nairobi County Government to pay an aggregate sum of Sh25,800,000 to the 1,032 waste pickers.
Each claimant was awarded Sh25,000.
The amount is for compensation for the harm suffered as a result of prolonged exposure to air pollution at the dumpsite.
The judgment marks a significant win for environmental justice and affirms the rights of informal workers whose livelihoods expose them to hazardous conditions, while reinforcing the duty of state agencies to uphold environmental and public health standards.
[DNK-International@February 5,2026]
