Naivasha residents have expressed concern over an influx of pastoralists who have invaded the lakeside town in the last two months.
As a result, disputes over water and pasture between pastoralists and farmers have escalated.
The ongoing drought is blamed for the current crisis.
Naivasha assistant county commissioner Mutua Kisulu said the drought situation is very serious though no human deaths have been reported.
He said the situation was worsened by an influx of pastoralists from neighboring counties, who seek pasture for their livestock.
“The drought situation in Naivasha is bad. Wildlife is also invading nearby farms and destroying crops at a time when many families don’t have food,” Kisulu said.
The commissioner said the most affected areas are Moi Ndabi, Longonot, Mai Mahiu, Ndabibi, Karati, Munyu, Kiambogo and some estates around Naivasha town.
He said they are monitoring the situation keenly and working with KWS in dealing with the wildlife menace.
“We have had incidents where members of the public have killed wildlife that strayed into their homes. KWS and other state agencies are however, looking into this,” Kisulu said.
He also said majority of wildlife within Naivasha are outside the two parks, leading to the current crisis.
The commissioner said some of the animals also stray into nearby highways.
This comes as nearly all the major rivers in Naivasha have dried up due to the drought and their is massive abstraction in the catchment area.
Lake Naivasha Water Resource Users Association says the illegal abstraction has adversely affected communities living downstream.
LANAWRUA chairman Enock Kiminta said the drop in water levels has been caused by the ongoing harsh weather conditions.
He said farmers in the catchment area worsened the situation through excess abstraction, adversely affecting water flow.
“At the moment, farmers in the catchment area are using the water for overhead irrigation and this is very dangerous,” Kiminta said.
The chairman said if unchecked, the abstraction could in the coming days affect water levels in Lake Naivasha and the massive investment in the flower farms.
He blamed the illegal abstraction on failure to enforce the law adding that government agencies mandated to undertake this faced financial and capacity challenges.
(Edited by Bilha Makokha)
