DPP orders probe as Patel dams drained to avert another possible tragedy

The government has begun emptying dams at the ill-fated Patel farm in Nakuru County.

At the same time, Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) Noordin Haji has asked the Inspector General of Police to investigate the tragedy that has killed more than 48 people.

The exercise to drain Marigu and Milmet dams caused panic among residents downstream who thought another dam had burst its banks. Water Cabinet Secretary Simon Cheleugui then ordered the draining of all the other dams in the farm yesterday.

“All the other dams at Patel’s Farm be drained with immediate effect in order to avert any likelihood of a similar occurrence of disaster in the area,” Mr Cheleugui said in a belated message sent out in the afternoon, long after the dams had been drained.

The CS said the dam operator was in breach of the law not just for the broken dam but also the others on his farm.

“It is unfortunate that this incident has occurred when the Water Resource Management Authority (Warma) has been pursuing the owner to ensure compliance,” the CS said while also threatening to demolish other dams built illegally.

In a letter to IG Joseph Boinnet, Mr Haji directed immediate investigations and a report made within 14 days. “This is to direct that you cause immediate and thorough investigations to be undertaken in order to establish the cause of the disaster and culpability if any,” he said.

Disaster in waiting

Earlier in the day, Government Spokesman Eric Kiraithe confirmed that Warma had expressed doubts about the integrity of the Patel Dam weeks before the reservoir’s walls collapsed.

According to Warma regional manager Simon Wang’ombe, the dams lacked spillways - structures to provide the controlled release of flows from a dam into a downstream area. “The dams are weak and water has been seeping onto the road and into residential homes,” he said.

The draining of the dams follows the death of 48 people after the walls of another dam broke apart, releasing violent waves of water that swept through two villages - leaving behind a trail of deaths and destruction.

The tragedy affected an area stretching to about 10 kilometers and occupied by some 500 families. Two villages -- Nyakinyua and Energy -- were worst hit by the tragedy that the government has listed as the worst in the country’s flooding history.