Victims of the rising lake Nakuru have petitioned the government to consider compensating them for losses suffered.
The over 650 residents of Baruti East Location within Nakuru Town West Sub-County claim that they are living in misery after their homes and properties started being submerged by the swelling waters of Lake Nakuru in 2020.
Through their spokesman Mr David Kahoro the locals claim that in May 2020 the water levels in the lake rose to unprecedented levels and submerged roads, agricultural fields, grazing areas, at least two schools, health facilities and a trading center.
Mr Kahoro also appealed to the national government to support and resettle tens of families displaced by rising waters in the county.
Despite findings by experts that fish in the water body are laden with toxic elements that pose a health hazard, the displaced families are further pleading with the authorities to be allowed to continue with fishing, alleging that it was now their only source of livelihood.
Though officials from Nakuru County Health Department and the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) have been manning the fishing points to keep away both commercial and subsistence fishermen, much of the illegal fishing activity continues unabated outside the game reserve and private farms where the lake waters have spilled over.
Lake Nakuru, according to a recent study, currently has three newly introduced tilapia fish species that previously never existed.
Until the recent rise in water levels in the lake, researchers say only one species Tilapia Grahami which was introduced in 1953 existed within the soda lake.
The new fish species has attracted locals and has seen makeshift eateries spring up on the boundaries of lake shores.
It was also for many years inhabited by cichlid, a small type of fish that is able to tolerate harsh conditions. The fish was introduced in the early 1960s and has flourished in the lake.
Fishing within the farms, where water from Lake Nakuru has spilled into, according to Mr Kahoro, is a rare chance that has given them opportunities to fish and supply the commodity to eateries in towns.
The petition is copied to the Office of the President, Governor Susan Kihika, Cabinet Secretaries for Health, Lands and Housing, Tourism, Trade and Mining, Blue Economy and Maritime Affairs.
It has also been forwarded to the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) and Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute (KEMFRI).
Mr Kahoro said the victims had lost about 2,000 acres of land, with some being displaced from their ancestral lands while scores of others are now internally displaced persons at Baruti Trading Centre.
Addressing the media in Nakuru the spokesman further claimed that cases of attacks by wild animals have also increased as a result of the shrinking habitat within the Lake Nakuru National Park and Bird Sanctuary.
The residents spoke barely a week after President William Ruto appointed a multi-agency team to address issues causing conflicts in and around Lake Nakuru National Park.
The decision to form a multi-agency team follows complaints of health risks associated with consuming fish from the lake.
Previous surveys undertaken on fish from the lake by Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute found traces of heavy metals, which the State Department for Blue Economy and Fisheries said warrants immediate attention.
According to a letter dated January 19 by the Mining, Blue Economy and Maritime Affairs Principal Secretary Betsy Njagi, the President’s directive seeks to address issues causing conflict within the park to conserve the lake.
“In this regard, and cognizant that protecting the lake and aquatic life is critical to the country’s economy and international heritage, the President has directed that immediate action be taken to address the rising levels of pollution in the Lake,” PS Njagi said.
“This coupled with the increasing waste from the pit latrines, the Nakuru sewerage treatment plant, and the Gioto solid waste dump, among others, continue to pose a threat to the aquatic life as well as to those who consume the contaminated fish,” Njagi wrote.
“As you are well aware, the presence of the biological, physical, and chemical food hazards in the lake is a cause for major concern for food safety and human health. Consumption of contaminated fish can be a major food hazard exposure route for humans. Furthermore, illegal fishing poses a significant economic and environmental risk,” reads the letter in part.
Although Lake Nakuru is not gazetted under fisheries laws for commercial fishing, illegal fishing started in 2020 following the swelling of the lake. The team will be tasked with addressing pollution and fishing in the lake.
The team has membership drawn from state-agencies, including Kenya Fisheries Service, Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute, Kenya Wildlife Service, National Environment Management Authority, and Water Resources Management Authority.
The letter is addressed to the State Departments of Environment and Climate Change, Wildlife and Water.
Lake Nakuru surface area increased from 35km² in 2013 by 100% to 71km² in 2020, a situation that led to a spillover into the neighbouring villages.
With Lake Nakuru being a salty lake, only salt-tolerant Magadi tilapia existed within the lake. Increased water volumes over time are however linked to the increase in freshwater fish.
The increasing water volume attributed to heavy rainfall in the catchment contributed to the dilution of the once saline lake to a more habitable environment for freshwater fisheries. Fish is likely to have escaped from flooded fish ponds and dams in the catchment to acclimatize in the lake,” reads the letter.
By March, 2020 fishermen started migrating from Lake Naivasha with their fishing equipment, and by August 2020, over 50 fishing boats were illegally operating on Lake Nakuru.
Eateries also started mushrooming along the neighbourhoods despite a warning by KEMFRI that the fish within the lake had high concentrations of heavy metals including arsenic, copper, cadnium, iron and lead.
According to a 2020 survey undertaken by KMFRI, dominant fish species within the lake include Nile tilapia Oreochromis variabilis, Alcoapia grahami, and Oreochromis leucostictus.
There have been concerns over the safety of the fish within the lake, even as KMFRI warns about the toxic contaminants from the sewage system or dumpsite around the lake.
Concerns have also been raised on how illegal fishing activities within the lake pose a threat to the wildlife and tourism industry in the protected area.
“It is against this background that a multi-agency team is constituted at national and county level to develop a strategy to address issues related to the fishing activities at Lake Nakuru,” the ministry said.
By Anne Mwale and Dennis Rasto
