Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja has appointed a seven-member board to steer NCCG-Green Nairobi Limited Company, giving the county-owned waste management company a professional leadership structure.
The appointments, gazetted on August 14, formally establish the board for a three-year term, with environmentalist and conservationist Dr Isaac Kalua serving as chairperson.
The board brings together specialists in environmental conservation, solid waste management, data and digitisation, finance, law, community representation and logistics, reflecting Governor Sakaja’s pledge that Green Nairobi would be driven by professional expertise.
Other members are Mary Ngechu, a solid waste management specialist; Benson Njoroge, a digitisation, data and systems expert; Patrick Obanda, a community environmental activist and enthusiast; Philip Onyango, an advocate and LSK member; Waithera Gaitho, representing residents’ associations; and Diamond Bebetu Amutavi, a lawyer.
Sakaja said the broad professional composition of the board was deliberate, given the scale of how Nairobi managed solid waste management,greening and environmental sustainability.
“Green Nairobi is about bringing professionalism, expertise and accountability into the management of our city’s waste. We have deliberately brought together experts in environment, waste management, technology, finance, law, community representation and operations because this requires a serious, multidisciplinary approach.”
The formalisation of the board marks a major step in Sakaja’s plan to transform how Nairobi manages its mounting solid waste problem.
Sakaja has previously said Green Nairobi is intended to operate as a professional county-owned company, with its own management, resources and professional board.
The Governor has also argued that Nairobi must fundamentally change its approach to waste, moving beyond a system focused primarily on collection and disposal.
“For too long, Nairobi has treated waste simply as something to be collected and dumped. Our vision is different. We want to build a system where waste is properly managed, where our city is cleaner and where what we have traditionally considered a problem can become an economic and environmental opportunity.”
In April 2025, Sakaja said the Green Nairobi initiative was informed by a study of waste management models in major African cities, including Cape Town, Johannesburg, Lagos and Addis Ababa. He said Nairobi needed to move away from an inefficient waste collection model towards a structured system focused on cleanliness, efficiency and long-term sustainability.
The new board comes against the backdrop of increased investment in the city’s waste management system, including the recruitment of thousands of Green Army workers and the acquisition of additional waste collection equipment. The county has also been pursuing broader reforms aimed at professionalising solid waste collection and processing.
Sakaja said the newly appointed directors have a clear mandate to help translate the Green Nairobi vision into a sustainable institutional framework.
“This board has a clear responsibility to help us build a Green Nairobi that is cleaner, healthier and more sustainable. We are putting in place the institutions and expertise required to move from temporary solutions to a modern waste-management system that can serve Nairobi for generations.”
The appointments place Green Nairobi at the centre of Sakaja’s push to create a cleaner, greener and more efficiently managed capital.
With expertise spanning the waste management value chain from environmental conservation and solid waste management to data, finance, law, community representation and logistics the board is expected to provide the governance framework for the company as it moves towards full-scale operations.
For Sakaja, Green Nairobi is more than a waste collection company. It is a central pillar of his long-term strategy to modernise environmental management, improve the cleanliness of Nairobi and ultimately turn the city’s waste into a resource.
