Ruto orders relief and rescue after 23 killed in Nairobi floods

A multi-agency team on Saturday spent much of their time pulling bodies from floodwaters across Nairobi after an overnight downpour caused heavy flooding in Kenya's capital.

Police confirmed that at least 23 people were killed as 71 vehicles were swept away.

Following the situation, President William Ruto has deployed a team of emergency responders, including soldiers, to coordinate rescue efforts, while offering condolences to the affected communities. The head of state also ordered that relief food from national strategic reserves be immediately released and distributed to families affected by the floods.

"The ongoing flooding in parts of Nairobi and several other areas of our country has caused immense distress to many families, resulting in the tragic loss of lives, displacement of residents, and damage to homes, property, and livelihoods," President Ruto said via the social media platform X.

He extended his condolences to the families that have lost their loved ones, while stating that all those still in danger would be assisted.

"I have directed the immediate deployment of a multi-agency emergency response team led by the Ministry of Interior and National Administration, working closely with the Kenya Defence Forces and other emergency response agencies," Dr Ruto said.

The rains also disrupted the aviation sector. Kenya Airways (KQ) said the rains had disrupted flights to Nairobi and forced some to divert to the coastal city of Mombasa.

Many parts of the capital also experienced power outages, with Kenya Power stating that its substation in South C had been submerged by flood water.

On Friday, toll services on the Nairobi Expressway were suspended for two hours to ease congestion caused by the flooding situation.

MOJA Expressway Company Limited on Friday offered motorists free access to the elevated Nairobi Expressway as other city roads were rendered impassable by floods caused by the heavy downpour.

In a notice, MOJA said motorists were free to use the road free of charge from 9pm to 11pm.

MOJA is the specialised operator managing the 27.1-kilometre Nairobi Expressway in Kenya, connecting Mlolongo to James Gichuru Road.

It is a subsidiary of the China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC), which designed, financed, and constructed the expressway under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model.

The Expressway normally has toll stations, but to manage the flooding situation, the company opted to avail access to motorists without payment, to clear the heavy gridlock witnessed within the city amid fog and humid conditions.

The Friday night rainfall also affected residents of Migori County.

In Narok, mourners who thronged Emurua Dikirr to attend the burial of area MP Johana Ng'eno, wore gamboots, as mud caused by heavy rainfall rendered the area impassable. Rain pounded the area on Thursday night. Ng'eno died in a chopper crash in Mosop, Nandi County on February 28, 2026, alongside five others.