Fishermen in Lake Naivasha have welcomed the appointment of a new boss to lead the Kenya Coast Guard Service.
They rejected calls to withdraw the guards from the lake, saying they were optimistic the new boss would address the challenges facing the water body.
Last week, Naivasha MP Jayne Kihara said in Parliament that the security officers be withdrawn from the lake over the controversial deaths of youths through shooting and drowning.
Responding to the request, Interior CS Kithure Kindiki admitted that the KCGS had command challenges which had since been addressed.
The CS said previously the coast guards were led by a military officer, but the President has now appointed Commandant of Kenya Police College Bruno Shioso as the new director general.
Lake Naivasha and Oloidien boat owners’ association chairperson Grace Nyambura said the coast guards are crucial to the fisheries sector in the lake.
She said instead of kicking the coast guards out of the lake, they should be transferred and new ones brought in.
“We reject in totality calls to withdraw the services of the coast guards as they have in the past assisted in dealing with cases of illegal fishing,” she said.
Speaking in Naivasha, Nyambura expressed concerns over the current unit, accusing it of working with illegal fishermen to fish at night.
She alleged that illegal gangs working with the support of officers from the coast guards had taken over the lake, stealing their catch and vandalising their nets.
Simon Nyongesa pointed an accusing finger at the coast guards for the current fishing challenges in the lake.
Nyongesa said the first group that was posted to Naivasha managed to fully control illegal fishing before they were transferred.
“The current officers should be replaced by new officers as they are openly working with illegal fishermen leading to a drop in fish catch,” he said.
However, a senior officer from the Kenya Coast Guard Service, who declined to be named, said some fisheries officers conduct night patrols without involving them.
“We had a meeting with the security committee sometime back and it was agreed that we would hold joint patrols but the fisheries department has ignored this,” the officer said.
