State told to resettle lakes rise victims
Nakuru county government has appealed to the national government to support and resettle tens of families displaced by rising waters in the county.
The county admitted that it could not be able to assist all the families mainly around Lakes Naivasha and Nakuru, which are the hardest hit by the rising waters.
Governor Lee Kinyanjui noted water levels in all the lakes in the county had risen, thus affecting tens of families and wildlife.
He cited the two lakes as the most affected, noting that there was need to resettle and offer humanitarian support to the displaced families.
“As a county, we have done a lot to support those displaced by the rising waters but this is a drop in the ocean and the national government should now chip in,” he said at the weekend.
Families warned
His plea came only days after the Kenya Red Cross warned families living around water bodies to shift to higher grounds because of the expected heavy rains.
On Lake Naivasha, the governor said the number of displaced animals has risen sharply leading to an increase in cases of human-wildlife conflict.
“Cases of hippo attacks are on the rise and it’s time that we addressed this crisis before we lose more lives,” he said.
Kinyanjui,at the same time, challenged the technical committee undertaking a study on the abnormal rise in the lakes to release its report.
“We are waiting for the report to know what has caused this rare phenomenon and the way forward,” he said.
Returned back
According to Lake Naivasha Water Resource Users Association (Lanawrua), meteorological reports indicated that the region would receive heavy rains starting this week.
The association chairman Enock Kiminta said currently, water levels in the lake had dropped from 1891.56 metres above sea levels last year to 1891.10 metres.
“When the water levels dropped some families whose houses had been flooded decided to return back and we are worried by the move,” he said.
Kiminta added that as per the projections by the weathermen, the rains could be heavier and could cause more displacement than last year.
He, at the same time, noted that the fuel pipeline in Kihoto estate had been flooded raising fears among residents and environmentalists.
“Water from this lake is very corrosive and we fear that it might have effects on the metallic underground pipes that ferry millions of litres of fuel every day,” he said.
