County Dismissed Six Water Companies MDs Outside the Law, Precipitating Chaotic Water Regime
By Martin Masai
Machakos County’s water sector is in turmoil — and Kenya’s national regulator has now said so, publicly and without ambiguity.
In a blistering press statement dated January 27, 2026, the Water Services Regulatory Board (WASREB) accused the Machakos County Government of unlawful interference in the governance of six water service providers, warning that the actions not only breach the Constitution and the Water Act, 2016, but have already cost residents tens of millions of shillings in lost funding.
The utilities affected are Mavoko, Machakos, Kathiani, Kangundo, Yatta and Mwala Water and Sanitation Companies.
Their Managing Directors were placed on compulsory leave — not by duly constituted Boards, as required by law — but through actions by County Secretary Dr. Muya Ndambuki. His actions, the regulator says, bypassed legal governance structures altogether.
Under Kenya’s water sector framework, utilities operate through professional Boards of Directors responsible for oversight, performance management, and disciplinary processes.
WASREB says those boards were either absent or sidelined under the watch of Wavinya’s Water Minister Onesmus Kuyu.
That is not a minor procedural lapse. It is a structural breach.
The regulator outlines four specific violations: failure to constitute lawful boards, unlawful placement of Managing Directors on compulsory leave without due process, attempts to cluster or merge utilities without viability studies or stakeholder engagement, and failure to seek mandatory approval from the regulator for restructuring.
WASREB’s message is unmistakable: Machakos acted outside the law.
Even more explosive is the financial fallout.
According to the regulator, Mavoko and Machakos water companies had been lined up for World Bank support — Sh74 million and Sh32.4 million respectively.
That funding, WASREB states, was forfeited after the utilities failed to meet Corporate Governance Standards- governance standards that the county itself is now accused of undermining.
If that loss stands, Machakos residents have effectively been deprived of Sh106.4 million in water sector investment — money that could have strengthened infrastructure, stabilised supply, and improved service delivery.
Instead, the county now faces regulatory rebuke, possible legal challenges, and shaken investor confidence.
WASREB has demanded immediate corrective action: reinstate lawful governance structures, constitute legitimate boards, halt non-compliant structural changes, and engage the regulator before undertaking further action.
When The Anchor contacted Dr. Ndambuki and Governor Wavinya for comment, they did not provide a response in what is now typical of their decision making process.
The warning from WASREB is clear. Devolution does not grant counties the licence to ignore national law. Water may be devolved — but regulation is not optional.
For Machakos residents, the question is brutally simple: while leaders wrestle over control, who is protecting the tap?
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