Loss of jobs as lake corridor is blocked

Youths demolish a gate that were been used to block a corridor leading the Karagita landing beach in Naivasha. Nakuru county government intervened and the corridor that leads to Lake Naivasha was reopened. Pix By Antony Gitonga

There was a moment of anxiety after security officers closed one of the largest corridors leading to Lake Naivasha rendering over 500 people jobless.

Tension was high in the nearby Karagita estate where many of the workers hail from as the corridor which leads to Karagita landing beach was closed down.

The Wednesday exercise that was incidentally supervised by tens of armed security officers came a day after the Nakuru County government termed it as illegal.

Hired staff under guard erected a gate at the point of entry along Moi South Lake as fisher-folk who rely on the corridor vowed to protest the move.

County maps

On Tuesday, the Leader of the Majority in Nakuru County Assembly Samuel Waithuki visited the scene and termed the move as illegal and ordered that the road be opened up.

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Mr Waithuki said according to the county maps, the disputed section of the land was a public corridor which should be opened up.

"The move to close the corridor means that hundreds of our youths will be left jobless and we cannot allow this," he said.

But a day later, security officers moved in and supervised its closure as the fisher-folks continued with their work at the landing beach.

Speaking on phone, Naivasha sub-county commissioner Abraham Kemboi said the security officers were only enforcing a court order.

Mr Kemboi said one of the farmers had gone to court claiming ownership of the corridor, leading to the court order.

"Our security officers are just enforcing a court order and the matter has nothing to do with the county or national government," he said.

Armed thugs

Karagita Landing Beach Chairman David Kilo said they had gone to the High Court in Nakuru to seek an injunction.

Mr Kilo warned that the closure of the corridor could spell doom to tens of families who relied on it to access and operate in the lake.

"We are deeply concerned by the move to block this road which is a public corridor and we have gone to court to seek orders stopping its closure," he said.

Samson Mwangi, a long time fisherman in the lake, said the corridor in dispute was demarcated in 1920 and some traders were keen to grab it.

During the festive season, the Karagita public beach was the centre of attraction for middle income earners with hundreds accessing it through the dispute corridor.

Meanwhile police officers are looking for a gang of armed thugs who were found vandalising a communication mast in Ngata estate, Nakuru town.

Nakuru police division boss Bernard Kioko said police officers on patrol received a tip off the public that the thugs were vandalising the mast at around 5am on Wednesday.

Kioko said the officers rushed to the scene and confronted the thugs resulting in an exchange of fire where one of the thugs was injured before they escaped.

"The thugs vandalising the mast were armed with a rifle and they begun shooting at the officers when the officers confronted them," said Kioko.

The officers say they recovered some items from a car at the scene.