Rising Lake Naivasha sparks violent land clashes in Karagita

Several private properties have reportedly been overrun by armed gangs who have looted and vandalised homes.
One property owner, who requested anonymity for security reasons, said she has lost millions of shillings after her compound was invaded.

The rising water of Lake Naivasha near Karagita has sparked a major conflict between private landowners and beach management units, leading to invasions, destruction, and rising insecurity.

Several private properties have reportedly been overrun by armed gangs who have looted and vandalised homes. One property owner, who requested anonymity for security reasons, said she has lost millions of shillings after her compound was invaded.

“We have enjoyed peace since the 1980s, but what is happening now is disturbing,” she said. “They’ve taken fencing posts, barbed wire, and even cut down trees we’ve grown for over 30 years.”

The invaders, described as a group of about 50 men armed with pangas and often intoxicated, have cleared fences, trees, and security barriers on private land. Residents say the area has turned into a drug den, fuelling lawlessness.

The property owners are calling on the Kenya Wildlife Service to intervene and convert the disputed riparian zone into a wildlife corridor to end the clashes.

Lake Naivasha Riparian Association general manager Silas Wanjala confirmed the tension, blaming members of BMUs for encroaching on private land after their original operating areas were submerged by the rising lake.

“Instead of negotiating for space, some BMU members have broken fences and occupied private land,” Wanjala said, adding that cottages have been looted and trees cut to create makeshift operating zones.

He said government agencies have so far offered little help, forcing some affected landowners to consider legal action. Two properties have already been invaded, while three more owners have received warnings of possible encroachment.

Wanjala said the lake level, recorded at 1,891.89 metres above sea level as of Monday, has now surpassed 2020 levels, worsening the crisis. The official riparian boundary is at 1,892.8 metres.

Efforts to demarcate the riparian boundary have stalled due to funding gaps, but Wanjala said talks are underway with the Director of Survey to resume the process.

Land disputes around Lake Naivasha are not new. In 2018, Justice Munyao Sila ruled that a piece of land in Karagita belonging to Jackson Kariuki was private property and not a public access corridor, issuing a permanent injunction against encroachment.

For now, rising waters continue to re-draw boundaries — and tensions — around one of Kenya’s most contested lakeshores.

The rising water of Lake Naivasha has reignited long-simmering tensions between private landowners and beach management units, exposing deep gaps in riparian land management and enforcement. As homes are invaded and property destroyed, the conflict underscores how climate-driven changes — like lake expansion — can quickly turn into security and property-rights crises. With government agencies largely absent and demarcation efforts stalled, locals are left vulnerable to lawlessness and opportunism. Experts warn that without clear policy direction and rapid intervention, environmental shifts around Kenya’s major lakes could trigger wider social and economic instability along riparian zones.