Town calms but deep-rooted tensions persist

NAIVASHA town is recovering from Kenya’s recent post-election violence which saw neighbour turn against neighbour.

Its picturesque surroundings overnight turned into a bloodbath as families were burned out of their homes and killed by machete-wielding mobs.

Ethnic conflict was the key reason behind the clashes, but tensions were already brewing. The town’s surge in numbers has seen unplanned settlements shoot up around the lake because of the booming flower trade. But many migrating workers have failed to get work, which has resulted in increased crime levels.

According to a University of Nairobi-linked report, the lakeside population has “increased tremendously” but there is a lack of basic amenities like water, sanitation, and waste disposal. Residents are going to the lake for washing as well as for domestic and livestock needs. The area now supports more than 500,000 people. Scientists say cattle, sheep or goat herders have also been moved off nearby lands or transit routes and are staying close to the town because of increased demand for dairy foods.

The result is tens of thousands of domestic animals as well as wild buffalo are driving up lake nitrate levels with their waste as well as increasing erosion. Human waste is also affecting the water with rain washing sewage from villages into the lake. Furthermore, the town’s sewage plant was originally built in 1986 to cater for a maximum of 75,000 people — many more now live in Naivasha.

The Lake Naivasha Riparian Association, a local environmental interest group, fear the plant’s overflowing sewage is seeping into the lake itself.

One small settlement by the town, Kihoto, is even using water from the sewage plant’s pools to cultivate vegetables.