Government steps efforts to seal porous borders on the Lakes Victoria and Turkana

Boats along Lake Victoria. [James Omoro, Standard]

The government has stepped up efforts to seal porous border points in large water bodies as it seeks to stop the pilferage of counterfeit alcohol and drugs into the country in line with President William Ruto's new year directives.

The government has said it will increase surveillance in Lakes Victoria and Turkana as they pose the greatest threat.

Speaking to journalists in Kisumu, during a tour of the Coast Guard offices, Interior CS Kipchumba Murkomen said the Kenya Coast is extremely important in the quest to handle the drug problem.

He said that the government will add more boats to Kisumu's Coast Guard to improve their preparedness and also ensure they can appropriately patrol Lake Victoria.

He said they are also partnering with Kenya Shipyard Limited to ensure they rehabilitate the boats they already have.

"We are expecting a proper rehabilitation after an overhaul of nine boats. Four of them are here, while five are in the Coast region. We want to expedite that process and work together with a multi-agency team from other sectors to ensure they can patrol in the lake victoria," he said.

Murkomen noted complaints from fisherfolk about harassment from officers from neighbouring countries and the robbing of fish and fish gear.

"These are some of the reasons why we want to strengthen the coastguard to patrol the Lake Victoria effectively. Remember, we already have an agreement with Uganda on how to manage the lake, and we want to respect that, but we also want to strengthen our team to respond accordingly," he noted.

According to Murkomen, among the things the government will do to increase preparedness is improving personnel through training, equipping the current coast guard teams in their respective places.

Governor Anyang Nyong'o said that Lake Victoria contributes to the country's and county's GDP and as a result is taken very seriously.