Nema officials on Tuesday started a crackdown in south Nyanza counties to eradicate waste pollution in Lake Victoria.
Officials from Kisii, Homa Bay, Migori and Nyamira conducted an operation in Homa Bay, where they arrested 20 people found polluting the lake.
The crackdown was conducted in Makongeni, Sofia, Rodi Kopany and Shauri Yako estates.
Among those arrested were hotel managers, supermarket owners and traders. Those arrested will be arraigned.
Nema chief compliance officer Jane Nyandika said they want to protect the lake from excess pollution.
She said pollutants include chemical waste, banned plastic bags and effluent discharges washed downstream into the lake.
“The lake has become a depository for all sorts of waste. Statistics show that pollution being experienced in the lake is due to human activities,” Nyandika said.
Speaking to journalists in Homa Bay town, she said the crackdown will continue until people comply with environmental laws.
Homa Bay Nema director Josiah Nyandoro said the use of banned plastic bags is still a concern for environmentalists in the county.
Some banned plastic materials still make their way into Homa Bay through the porous border.
Nyandoro said they are also looking into compliance with Effluence Discharge Licensing (EDL), a requirement for any facility that releases effluent to the environment.
He said some individuals are still smuggling banned polythene bags into Homa Bay.
"Such people can’t go without arrest because they don’t comply with the law,” Nyandoro said.
Edited by A.N
