All night activities in Lake Naivasha now banned

Naivasha sub-county security committee has banned all operations around Lake Naivasha after 6pm following increased cases of vandalism on private land and structures submerged in water.

This came as details emerged that despite the ongoing curfew, fishermen were openly fishing in the lake at night while some were using the cover of darkness to steal.

The move comes barely a week after landowners around the lake raised their concern over an increase in attacks and robbery incidents from a gang of youths.

According to Naivasha sub-county commissioner Mbogo Mathioya, a multi-agency security team had been formed to address crime cases in the lake.

Addressing the press after meeting with the Beach Management Units (BMUs), Mbogo admitted that some fishermen had ignored the ongoing curfew.

“We shall make sure that the curfew is adhered to and anyone found operating after 6pm will have himself to blame,” he said.

Mbogo at the same time banned eco-tourism operators from using their boats in the lake until the current Covid-19 pandemic is resolved.

“Some operators involved in eco-tourism activities are using their boats to ferry the vandalized property and we shall not entertain this,” he said.

The commissioner also expressed his concern over an increase in land invasion by fishermen after their beaches were flooded by the rising waters in the lake.

On hippo attacks which have left four people dead this month, Mbogo attributed this to the invasion of the animal’s territory by the illegal fishermen.

“We have recorded a rise in cases of hippo attacks around the lake in the last couple of months and this is mainly due to the illegal fishing and closure of wildlife corridors,” he said.

On his part, the chairman Lake Naivasha Boat Owners association David Kilo admitted that the vandalism cases were worrying with the numbers of those involved also increasing.

He attributed this to lack of patrols on the troubled water body adding that the association would offer three boats to assist security officers in their patrols.

“The curfew has only been concentrated on the land but in the lake there is so much robbery incidents going on targeting laid nets and vandalisms of structures,” he said.