The people of Kitui County marked this year’s World Cleanup Day on Thursday, October 9, 2025, by cleaning up the Kwa Vonza Market within the county’s Lower Yatta District. Most of the event’s attendees were the schoolchildren.
The National Environment Management Kitui County marked this year’s (17th) World Cleanup Day on Thursday, October 9, 2025. Atieno Adwong’a was the chief guest at the function.
The colourful event was organised by the NEMA, Kenya Forestry Research Institute (KEFRI), Kenya Forest Service (KFS), Kitui Development Centre (KDC), National Drought Management Authority (NDMA), Adventist Development Relief Agency (ADRA), Wildlife Clubs of Kenya (WCK), Kitui Teachers Training College, Wendo Family Foundation, Kitui Water and Sanitation Company Limited and Nature Plus, among others.
Some trees donated by the KEFRI were planted within the Kwa Vonza District Officer’s Office compound as part of the event.
Globally, this year’s World Cleanup Day was marked on September 20, 2025. “Tackling textile and fashion waste” was the theme of this year.
Addressing the Kwa Vonza Market function, the Assistant Kitui County Forest Conservator, Jacob Kongo, said we can’t talk of the environment without the trees. “We can’t talk of the environment without the trees. We can’t talk of climate change without the trees,” he said.
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Let us all grow the trees and conserve them to curb climate change, the forester added. He was representing the Kitui County Forest Conservator, Charles Kavithi, at the function.
Kongo educated the event’s attendees on the tree planting. He also educated them on various tree species, including the Senna siamea.
“The Senna siamea is exotic, but it has become accustomed to our area. It has become accustomed to the droughts quite a lot,” the expert said.
The Senna siamea is a legume in the subfamily Caesalpinioideae. It is native to South and Southeast Asia.
Kongo talked about the plastic dangers. “The plastics are dangerous to us, the human beings, and they are also dangerous to the animals,” he said. The KFS official said environmental conservation is a collective responsibility. He expressed his gratitude to the Kitui Teachers Training College for being a leader in environmental conservation.
“We appreciate you a lot for you are always with us in environmental conservation,” he told the Kitui Teachers Training College teachers and students, who were also the event’s attendees.
And addressing the occasion, the event’s chief guest, Catherine Atieno Adwong’a, talked about Kenya’s Sustainable Waste Management Act, 2022.
“The waste sector is a sector with good opportunities. Venturing into waste collection is a way to earn money. The waste is not the waste. It is a very important thing,” the NEMA official said. Adwong’a told the members of the public that the government consultancies by the NEMA are free.
KEFRI official Pius Matieka also addressed the occasion, representing the KEFRI Kitui Regional Research Centre Director, Dr Albert M. Luvanda.
He said that KEFRI offers free training to farmers, groups, community members, and others in Kenya. “And we also give them the tree seedlings for free,” he added.
“The trees are the suckers of the carbon from the air, and that is why we give the people them for free,” Matieka said.
The Adventist Development Relief Agency Kitui Regional Project Manager, David Kitheka, also addressed the occasion, among others.
By Boniface Mulu
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