NAKURU, Kenya, Sep 25 – Naivasha residents have called for humanitarian aid as the number of people displaced by the swelling Lake Niavasha hits 5,000.
The residents said the current situation in the populous Kihoto Estate was dire with some of the homes, including pit latrines been submerged.
A youth leader in the area, Mathew Ariri accused the county and national government of ignoring their plight despite numerous appeals including media reports.
“No senior officer from the national or county government has visited us since the water started flooding our homes more than four months ago,” he said.
He said the situation was worsening by the day and termed a recent relief food supply by the county as an insult to people who were sleeping hungry and in the cold.
“We cannot go about our daily businesses as usual for months now and all the county offered us was a packet of beans and rice, how long can that kind of relief sustain a family,” he posed.
Kihoto Estate Chairman Stanley Wachanga said the people were legally there having bought their pieces of land in 1974.
“We are not on riparian land, It would be fair for the government to quickly get a solution for us by either compensating us, resettling us elsewhere or building dykes to end flooding.
Speaking as she visited the area, Nakuru Senator Tabitha Karanja warned of a disease outbreak due to massive mosquito infestation and poor sanitation.
She noted that the situation was deteriorating by the day with flooded toilets and houses, deplorable living conditions and hunger.
“Some of the needy families in the estate which is also home for hundreds of flower farm workers are sleeping in flooded houses and using flooded toilet, the is recipe for a disease outbreak,” she said.
She promised to file a petition in the Senate asking the national government to either compensate or resettle the affected families.
