Kenya Coast Guard Finally Moves To Lake Naivasha.

The Kenya Maritime Authority (KMA) has finally agreed to move into the troubled Lake Naivasha and regain sanity after years of illegal fishing and unorthodox fishing methods.

The authority will be joined by Kenya Coast Guards and Maritime Police in their patrols around the lake that has recorded an upsurge in the number of illegal fishermen.

This came as the authority expressed its concern over a rise in fatal incidents across the country’s water bodies in the last couple of years.

According to KMA acting Director-General John Omingo, the number of illegal fishermen in the lake posed a major threat to the water body.

He said that they would in the next two days make a tour of the lake and establish the weak points and measures to address them.

Speaking in Naivasha during a safety compliance campaign workshop, Omingo said that they were keen to set up a permanent office in Nakuru to address the challenges facing the region lakes.

“There is a big problem in Lake Naivasha and we are working with other stakeholders to make sure that the law is fully followed,” he said.

On coxswain, he noted that the majority of those working in various water bodies were not trained with 205 incidents recorded in the lakes in the last ten years.

“In the cases we lost 281 persons while we managed to rescue 525 people and many more of these cases have gone unreported,” he said.

On his part, Captain Jathan Odero from the Kenya Coast Guards said that they would post several officers in Lake Naivasha to start their patrols.

Odero said that they were keen to streamline operations around the lake where tens of former flower farm workers have invaded it in search of a daily meal.

“We are working with KWS, the county government and other arms of the government and we are sure that the illegal activities will be a thing of the past,” he said.

He said that the Kenya Coast Guards were already working in Lakes Victoria, Turkana and Baringo with Naivasha and Nakuru being their next destinations.

The chairman Lake Naivasha Boat Owners Association David Kilo welcomed the arrival of the Coast Guards terming the move as long overdue.

“The current challenges facing the lake include safety and security and we are confident that the Kenya Coast Guards will fully address this,” he said.