3,000 Lake Kamnarok residents fear eviction

More than 3,000 squatters living illegally around gazetted Lake Kamrarok and its once beautiful national game reserve are facing eviction.

The area has been destroyed by heir farming and herding activities, the lake is dying, 90 per cent choked with hyacinth. More than 400 elephants, 60 bird species have fled. Thousands of crocodiles have died.

It's no longer a celebrated tourist attraction and squatters were warned on Tuesday that they could well face eviction, like the illegal settlers who destroyed swathes of Mau Forest.

A decision will be made by Environment CS Keriako Tobiko.

On Tuesday residents met the National Environment Complaints Committee Ombudsman, Dr  John Chumu, and other officials who visited the Kerio Valley lake in Baringo North subcounty.

Residents said they have nowhere to go and will only leave if they are provided alternate fertile land.

“We are ready to leave only if the government allocates us fertile land elsewhere. Otherwise, this place is our ancestral land and for now we have nowhere to go,” elder Samuel Cheboi, 70, said.

He said when the lake was gazetted, the old Baringo County Council had a list of all inhabitants and promised to resettle them, but didn't.

Dr Chumo said the destruction of the environment by residents forced wild animals like elephants to to neighbouring Rimoi conservancy in Elgeyo Marakwet county.

“It is also saddening that the once-celebrated lake is now on its deathbed with a lot of siltation caused by massive soil erosion and water hyacinth choking he lake," he said.

Chumo recommended urgent government to reclaim and secure the diminishing natural resource, which once was a leading tourist’ attraction.

He said he would report to Environment CS Tobiko who would to decide "on the next course of action, whether to issue an eviction notice or stay order".

He was accompanied by National Environment Management Authority county director Josiah Nyandoro, county Environment director Jennifer Kipkazi and Baringo North forest officer Jared Bitange.

Nyandoro warned, "According to basic environmental law, no single person whatsoever is allowed to carry out any activity within a gazetted area and so what you people are doing here is totally illegal." he warned them to desist.

He hinted at an imminent mass eviction, similar to that of resistant inhabitants of gazetted Mau forest.

Elder Cheboi said succeeding governments held several meetings annually “aimed at evicting us and fencing off the 87.7 square kilometre land without involving us."

He said that in 2015 the county assigned a 26-member task force to collect their views and recommendations “but we are yet to receive the report."

The elder said also that as born farmers and pastoralists they cannot resist their nature of felling trees to cultivate their ancestral land and graze livestock freely.

“Due to the hard economic times, some people are now forced to cut the trees and burn charcoal to pay for their basic daily needs," Cheboi said.

Because of this, he said, they were being harassed daily and beaten by Kenya Wildlife Service wardens. Their farm implements were also confiscated, he said.

Elder Benjamin Cherop, 80, said he grew up, married “and probably I will die and will be buried here because I have got no other better place to go."

Cherop said, "We feel that our rights are being infringed because we have not seen any direct gain from conserving this lake for many years."

Talaa Chemase urged the government to sit down with elders to deliberate on the way forward. “As women and children we shall fall victim to harassment in case of forced evictions," she said.

At one time, Lake Kamnarok was ranked the second Ox-Bow lake in Africa after Lake Chad. It was gazetted as a reserve in 1983.

In 2014, Baringo Governor Benjamin Cheboi allocated Sh40 million to reclaim the lake by employing casual labourers to block the deep trenches through which water was abstracted. That effort was successful but the situation deteriorated.

Currently, Governor Stanley Kiptis has set aside Sh1.2million to remove the water hyacinth. Clearing has not yet started.

(Edited by V. Graham)