The latest bid to save Lake Kenyatta gains momentum

For nearly all his life, Samuel Musyoka has been practising fishing in Lake Kenyatta with a smile.

In 2016, however, Musyoka, just like other fishermen, had to flee from the area in search of other wetlands, where fish was in abundance.

Then, the stench of death and despair filled the air after wildlife such as hippos and buffaloes died.

“In early 1980s, the fish in this lake were plenty. Water levels were high as well,” Musyoka said.

Musyoka said things started going south around 2002. The water levels at the lake started declining.

“There was a lot of siltation at the lake, which threatened our livelihoods,” he said.

Lake Kenyatta has been a lifeline to Musyoka and thousands of Mpeketoni residents since time immemorial.

The lake was locally known as Lake Mukunganya before its name was changed to Lake Kenyatta in recognition of the first President of the country, Mzee Jomo Kenyatta.

The lake is Lamu’s biggest freshwater lake and one of the key freshwater bodies in Kenya’s coastal region.

According to the Water Resources Authority (WRA 2010), the entire Lake Kenyatta sub‐catchment stretches from Pangani to the northwest, Koruna River to the east and Indian Ocean to the southeast.

Its upper sub‐catchment area borders Garissa’s Ijara district to the north, from which River Mukuru, its main inlet, originates.

When Tana River floods occasionally, it drains some of its waters into the lake.

Around the lake is Mpeketoni, a settlement scheme that was set up by the national government in the 1970s for landless people drawn from other parts of Kenya.

FISH DECLINE

Many residents of Mpeketoni depend on the lake to grow farm produce for sale in Lamu and other towns, such as Malindi and Mombasa.

Other than farming, locals also engage in pastoralism.

Some have shallow wells on their land, others boreholes, but Lake Kenyatta — a vital groundwater recharge — has always been the soul of this settler community and the indigenous peoples, supporting more than 80,000.

In 2016, it almost completely dried up.

The lake is under severe threat due to human-induced factors and climate-change impacts, such as excessive water abstraction for irrigation, unsustainable fishing, encroachment and conversion of land in the buffer zone for agriculture.

The lake is also impacted by overgrazing and sand harvesting, pollution, and competition for the lake and its resources, pitting farmers against pastoralists and man against wildlife.

Musyoka said the lake dried in 2016, forcing them to seek alternative sources of fishing.

He said a few fish that were still in the lake died as the water had turned saline.

Musyoka says only three species that were still surviving died following the collapse of the lake.

Wild animals such as hippos and buffaloes were not spared either.

“Fish business at the lake ended, and a number of wildlife perished,” Musyoka says.

As a result of a prolonged and severe drought between 2016 and 2017, the lake almost completely dried up, and with it, the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of people who depend on it. 

So dire was the situation that the local community took the unprecedented action of literally wetting the drying bed with water from an underground spring for almost three months to ensure it did not completely dry up.

Today, the lake has shrunk to about 7km long due to the challenges it is facing. 

Musyoka said before the lake dried, they used to get up to 10 kilos of fish a day.

Each fish then was huge.

As the waters declined, the fish either died or reduced in size.

“Getting three kilos was hectic, and the fish were too small,” he said.

Following the dwindling fortunes at Lake Kenyatta, all the fishermen had to flee to Lake Moa for about eight months.

At Lake Moa, it was survival of the fittest, as many fishermen were depending on the resource.

County officials say Lake Moa, a freshwater lake in Witu division, Lamu West, is the only freshwater lake, serving more than 10,000 people.

But as they were scrambling for the only available fish at Lake Moa, the skies opened, giving Lake Kenyatta a fresh chance.

Musyoka said when they went back to Lake Kenyatta, they only found three fish species — tilapia, catfish, and mudfish — out of the 10 species that called the lake their home.

He says the other fish species that disappeared for good from the lake include Mkunga, Ngorongoro, and Nilon.

Musyoka said the species that were initially in the lake need to be reintroduced.

He said there have been some positive strides in the lake, citing the presence of crocodiles that were not there before.

“Hippos have also increased in numbers, unlike before,” he said.

Today, Musyoka is not only a fisherman at the lake but also the chairman of the beach management unit.

CONCERTED EFFORTS

Musyoka said the lake needs to be protected as it is a lifeline for many residents of Mpeketoni.

He said fishermen, farmers and herders are dependent on the resource.

Musyoka said the lake is also crucial in recharging boreholes around the area.

But even as the lake regains its lost glory, other challenges are emerging.

Today, siltation at the lake is worrying stakeholders due to poor farming practices along the catchment areas.

The lake is also suffering a high growth of algae, which has in turn been competing for oxygen with the fish.

Insufficient oxygen often causes fish and other marine life to struggle for oxygen.

Experts have been advocating for the introduction of conservation initiatives, such as good agriculture practices, afforestation and agroforestry, to salvage the ailing lake.

Lamu pastoralist chairman Kalmey Hared said herders should be provided with water pans where they are keeping their livestock to prevent them from bringing them near the lake, thereby causing more challenges.

“Water is life, and even our livestock needs it. If we do not get water where we are, we will come to the lake with our livestock,” he said.

Lake Kenyatta Water Resource Users Association chairperson David Muigah called for concerted efforts to help salvage the lake.

Muigah, 73, has lived in Mpeketoni for more than 70 years now, having been transferred as a teacher from then-Nandi district.

The retired teacher was one of the thousands of immigrants in Mpeketoni, a settlement scheme set up by the national government in the 1970s for landless people drawn from other parts of Kenya.

Muigah said further threats facing the lake, such as pollution and siltation, should urgently be stopped as they now threaten the lake through the introduction of fast-growing algae.

He warned that the lives of thousands are at stake if action is not taken.

He cited 2007, when pastoralists drove their cattle through the waterways between Mkunumbi and Witu, and the trampling loosened the soils, exacerbating erosion and resulting in sediment being dumped into the lake.

Muigah said Pangani was a marsh but it no longer exists today. He said sand dunes should be protected at all costs.

GOVERNMENT ACTION

The county leadership is aware of the threats facing the lake.

Lamu Governor Issa Timamy acknowledged that if action is not taken, Lake Kenyatta could go extinct.

Timamy said human activities threaten the lake.

“Many people are farming in water catchment areas, which is causing siltation,” he said.

Timamy said those who had farms in water catchment areas had it rough during heavy rains as their farms were flooded.

He said all those in waterways would be removed and moved elsewhere. Herders would not be spared.

Timamy said studies have been conducted to inform the move.

He said a task-force will also be formed to salvage the lake.

“We will involve organisations, line ministries and donors because a lot of resources are needed,” he said.

Timamy said some of the conservation organisations that have played a crucial role include the Nature Conservancy and Wetlands International.

The Nature Conservancy and numerous other partners have been tirelessly working to secure, restore and improve the management of mangrove ecosystems in Lamu county.

In the landscape, TNC is partnering with entities including the Northern Rangelands Trust, the Kenya Forest Service and the Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute.

They support and strengthen the capacity of Lamu communities to protect, manage and restore priority mangrove habitats and deepen connections with Community Forest Associations.

These actions help reduce threats to mangrove habitats for biodiversity conservation, community livelihood and climate benefits.

Timamy said his county is being allocated little resources as compared to other counties.

He said the county will be allocated Sh3.2 billion in the next financial year, of which Sh 1.782 billion goes to salaries, operations and maintenance.

Timamy said development gets about Sh1 billion.

He said conservation organisations such as Wetlands International are playing a key role in bridging the gap.

Given Lake Kenyatta’s pivotal role in Lamu county and beyond, Timamy and his team are spearheading its restoration.

In February 2024, through the facilitation of Wetlands International, the county brought together various key stakeholders, including national government agencies, the county government’s experts, CBOs and NGOs to draw a roadmap to help save the lake.

The roadmap addresses various legal, ecological, social and economic aspects.

It would allow stakeholders, including development partners and donors, to contribute to the restoration of Lake Kenyatta and its management in future.

Lamu Deputy Governor Raphael Munyua said they estimate that the lake has 16 feet of silt.

“We have about six and nine feet of silt in the lake, most of it has been brought in by rainwater,” he said.

Munyua said the situation has been aggravated by farming along the streams that brings water into the lake.

“As county government, we are thinking of desilting the lake because this is the only freshwater lake in the region apart from Lake Moa. It is also the biggest aquifer in the region, and without the lake, there is no settlement in Mpeketoni,” he said.

Munyua said before the desilting begins, silt should be stopped from getting into the lake.

Already, officials from the county have visited all the catchments around the lake to help raise awareness about the need to protect the lake.

Munyua, who also serves as Climate Change executive, said about Sh700 million is needed to desilt the lake.

He said more resources are needed to fully protect the lake.