Mombasa county suffers the highest rate of Non-Revenue Water (NRW) in Kenya, with 60 per cent of its supply lost through illegal connections, leakages, meter tampering and weak enforcement. 

In a bid to combat this, the county government has now launched a 100- day special programme , led jointly by the Mombasa Water Supply and Sanitation Company (MOWASSCO), the infrastructure department, public health officials and enforcement.

Addressing the media on Tuesday afternoon, Mombasa Governor Abdulswamad Nassir named Changamwe and Mvita sub counties as the most notorious areas recording the majority cases of illegal water connections.

"We will not allow the people of Mombasa to suffer just because of few individuals with personal interests with some seeking financial gains. This can be equated to treason." said Nassir.

Nassir revealed that they have so far arrested 21 individuals involved in the illegal connections.

Nassir argued "Among those found to be involved in this act are top national and county government officials. I have already issued an order to the county secretary on what action to be taken against the county government officials. No one is going to be spared on this."

"At the end of this initiative we expect to increase household water connections from 20,000 to 120,000. Reducing the non revenue water by half is a critical enabler of this goal."

Mombasa County needs approximately 200,000 m³ of water daily but currently receives less than 40,000 m³—largely due to illegal connections, theft, and leakages.