Nakuru Senator calls for compensation of families displaced by Lake Naivasha

Nakuru Senator Tabitha Karanja has termed the situation in Kihoto estate, Naivasha, a time bomb, after more than 5,000 residents were displaced by the swelling Lake Naivasha.

With flooded toilets, increased mosquitoes, and families sleeping hungry, the senator warned of a disease outbreak as the situation continues to deteriorate by the day.

This came as the affected residents accused the national and county governments of forgetting them, as the rising water level of the lake displaces more families.

Ms Karanja promised to petition the Senate to compel the national government to intervene and resettle the affected families to avert disaster.

Speaking after visiting the estate that is home to hundreds of flower farm workers, she said the situation was worrying and deplorable.

The senator regretted that tens of families that were not financially able were sleeping in flooded houses and latrines, raising fears of an outbreak of a waterborne disease.

Karanja hit out at the county government for failing to support the suffering farmers despite setting aside millions of shillings through the disaster management kitty.

“The county government has all its priorities wrong, but my office will assist over 20 families that are living in flooded houses and relocate them to safer grounds,” she said.

One of the youth leaders, Mathew Ariri, said that no senior officer from the national or county government had visited them to assess the situation.

The chairman of the estate, Stanley Wachanga, welcomed the senator's plan to raise their plight in the Senate, saying that they legally bought the land back in 1974.

“We legally obtained this land from the Ministry of Lands and those who want to revoke the title deeds are ill-advised and they should get their facts right,” he said.