By: Sahrfoa Matturie
Residents of Makeni are expressing growing concern over persistent heavy smoke that fills the city’s air at night, raising serious questions about public health and environmental safety.
Across several neighborhoods, thick smoke regularly rises after dark, largely attributed to the open burning of household waste. What should be a time of cooler, fresher air has instead become a period when many residents shut their doors and windows in an effort to avoid inhaling the fumes.
“It happens almost every night,” Princess Magdalene Momoh, a resident in the city. “You wake up coughing, your eyes are burning, and the smell sticks everywhere. It’s getting worse.” Community members say the issue has persisted for years, with little visible intervention from local authorities. Many point to gaps in waste collection services as a key driver, forcing households and informal waste handlers to resort to burning.
Health workers warn that prolonged exposure to smoke can pose risks, particularly for children, the elderly, and people with respiratory conditions. Symptoms reported by residents include coughing, breathing difficulties, headaches, and eye irritation. Environmental Specialist, Augustine Seppeh, notes that open burning releases harmful pollutants into the air, contributing not only to immediate discomfort but also to longer-term health and environmental damage.
According to Seppeh, the absence of Public Dumpsites has caused the residents to resort to localizing their waste disposal system within their houses; using the improvised incineration option. Despite repeated complaints, residents say response efforts, especially at night; have been limited. “During the day, you might hear promises,” Yayah Turay a student at the University of Makeni, “But at night, the smoke tells a different story.” Calls are now intensifying for the Makeni City Council to take decisive action.
Suggested measures include improving waste collection systems, creating designated disposal sites, and enforcing regulations against indiscriminate burning. For now, however, the smoke continues to hang over Makeni after sunset, leaving residents frustrated and concerned about the air they breathe.
