Katutura residents dump sewage at City of Windhoek office

Following the City of Windhoek allegedly ignoring the pleas of Katutura residents to improve sewage removal in their area, a group of residents say they had no choice but to dump sewage in front of the city’s customer centre at Katutura.

The group was led by community activist Shaun Gariseb on Monday.

“We came to make sure City of Windhoek officials have a bad Monday. We made sure it smells as bad as it smells where we live by bringing them the waste in buckets,” he said.

Gariseb said the sixth United Nations Sustainable Development Goal seeks to achieve good sanitation and hygiene for all.

He said the City of Windhoek subscribes to this global standards.

“It’s just about priority and replacing ageing pipes and fixing drains,” he said.

Gariseb said the City of Windhoek has allocated significant budget resources toward major wastewater development projects, including a N$1.7-billion water reclamation and wastewater system upgrade.

Smaller-scale sanitation projects, he said, are also supposed to be implemented in informal settlements and other areas of Windhoek.

“Why is this decade-long issue ignored? It’s causing the whole of Katutura to stink,” he said.

City of Windhoek spokesperson Harold Akwenye said the city is aware of the incident.

He said the matter was brought to their attention promptly, and a cleaning team has already been dispatched to restore the affected area.

“The city strongly condemns such actions and will review CCTV footage and other available evidence to establish what transpired and identify those responsible. Appropriate action will be taken in accordance with the law,” he said.

Regarding the concerns raised by residents of Dolam about sewage leaks, Akwenye said the city’s technical teams continuously monitor and attend to reported sewer blockages and overflows across the city, including in Dolam.

“We encourage residents to report such incidents through the city’s official communication channels to ensure timely response and resolution,” he said.

Akwenye said the city remains committed to maintaining public health, safety, and environmental hygiene, and urged residents to engage with the city constructively to work together to address service delivery challenges.

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