How Rift Valley lakes are snatching democracy

Fishermen at Lake Naivasha. [File, Standard]

The swelling of Rift Valley lakes has been in the news for two years now, presenting different aspects, especially of what it has denied communities. And now it is snatching democracy from the hands of those already battered by effects of this same phenomenon, and climate change.

The lakes are displacing thousands, and rendering property worth millions of shillings useless. The number of households displaced as a result of the swelling of lakes on the floor of the Rift Valley is now estimated at 75,987 in 2025 alone.