From Plenty to Peril: Lake Kenyatta's Spirited Fight for Survival

Nestled in the verdant neighborhood of Mpeketoni, the 3.7-square-kilometer freshwater mass in Lamu County has witnessed countless sunrises. 

And for all these years, Musyoka has been religiously casting his fishing net every morning for a catch. But for the last few years, a heavy shadow has been over his weathered smile.

His once-fruitful hauls are a cruel reminder of what's been lost. Nets that overflowed with plump fish now return embarrassingly empty. Or, at times, with a meagre catch that barely feeds his family. The vibrant bounty that has sustained him for years is quickly slipping through his fingers.

Musyoka, who’s also the lake’s beach management unit chair, is worried for the future."Will there even be a lake left for our children?" he wonders.

Can they follow in his footsteps, or will they inherit only a memory—a dusty echo of a life-giving oasis? The answer, he fears, lies upstream.

The lake is silting up, turning life-giving water into mud. He blames human activities and waste from the nearby town of Mpeketoni for choking the lake. Invasive crocodiles have dominated their fishing spots. 

He remembers the devastating drought of 2016–2017, a harsh mirror reflecting the potential future. Back then, Lake Kenyatta, once teeming with life, became a silent graveyard for countless animals.

Desperate to save their lifeline, the community toiled pumping water from their wells into the ever-shrinking lakebed. It was a race against time—a fight they ultimately lost. 

Kenya's lakes are facing a double threat; and it's a story of extremes. While some lakes are overflowing, displacing nearly 400,000 people, Lake Kenyatta is shrinking, creating a new set of problems.

"We owed it to the lake," Musyoka says, his voice full of regret. "It's the only source of fresh water for miles around. We had to try. Since then, the catch has shrunk from ten kilograms to nearly nil a day."

The drought forced Musyoka to seek fish in neighboring Lake Amu. It was a painful reminder of the interconnectedness of their environment. Animals, driven by desperation, were pushed downstream from faraway Boni Forest, Garissa, and Tana River, all competing for the dwindling water.

The reality of human impact struck back in 2002, foreshadowing the near-disappearance of the lake almost fifteen years later. When they returned eight months after the drought in 2017, only three fish species remained out of a vibrant community of nearly nine.

Gone were the longfin eels (locally called mkunga), ngorongoro, the white-fatty nilon fish, mborode, and mchokole—all vanished, perhaps forever. 

“Today, we have more crocodiles in the lake than fish, and they are now attacking fishermen, making it a dangerous place to visit,” he says.

Musyoka's plea for conservation is met with resistance. The water level monitoring station is a relic of the past and has been encroached on. The space previously demarcated for tree nurseries by the Kenya Forest Service (KFS) is fenced off and inaccessible. It is a blame game galore.

Kulmey Muhamed, 78, the chairman of Lamu County's pastoralists' association, refutes claims that their animals are responsible for silting the lake. He believes an alternative water source upstream would solve everything. "We have grass, but no water," he offers. "If water pans and dams are assigned to us, the blame game would end."

Lake Kenyatta Water Users Association (LAKWUA) chairperson Benson Kinyua says that over 85,000 residents of Mkunumbi and Mpeketoni townships are at risk of water strain. 

Banned plastics and other effluents from Mpeketoni town are contaminating the lake, which constantly recharges nearby wells. This is raising serious health risks for the community.

“We need water pans upstream to stop animals from coming into the lake.  We also demand the repossession of grabbed riparian land so that the restoration works can start in earnest,” Kinyua says. 

On his part, David Mwiga, a 73-year-old resident of Mpeketoni, remembers a time when the water from the lake was so clean that one could drink it at source. Now, standing by the murky shore, he advises against taking it.

"Forty years ago, this wasn't even an issue," he says, shaking his head. "Climate change has hit us hard, but it's not the only problem."

Mwiga points to the polluted water, choked with plastic and waste. "The lake isn't giving us water anymore. We used to channel water out of it, not back in. Now, chemicals have filled it, making it unusable."

His voice grows stronger as he urges action. "The government needs to stop people from grabbing land around the lake and fence it off if necessary. This is our lifeline, and we're losing it."

Despite the challenges, a beacon of hope flickers. Lobbyists at Wetlands International, Lamu County, and dedicated conservationists are joining forces with the community to breathe new life into this vital resource.

“We've had discussions on solutions for this lake and the wetland near it for a long time," says Mrs. Lilian Nyaega, the regional program officer at Wetlands International. "The focus now is empowering the community to understand the importance of protecting the lake." This isn't only about raising awareness but also inspiring action by stakeholders.

Through targeted advocacy and community empowerment efforts, residents are becoming active stewards of their water source. The fight to save Lake Kenyatta is far from over, but a united front offers a glimmer of hope for the future.

Understanding the need for healthy aquifers that naturally replenish their water wells is key to a sustainable future. Mrs. Nyaega emphasizes the urgency for institutions to take charge of restoration efforts but insists that the community's role is equally vital.

Sh1 billion urgently needed

A government report on lakes published in October 2021 points to climate change as the main culprit for the rising water levels in Lakes Naivasha, Baringo, and Victoria. Heavier rains have pushed these lakes to their limits, causing major flooding and forcing families to flee their homes.

The situation is so dire that the Kenyan government is appealing to the international community for Sh8 billion so as to address the growing crisis and develop long-term solutions.

Lake Kenyatta, on the other hand, is drying up. The receding waterline is exposing muddy banks and creating a haven for invasive predators like crocodiles. This is forcing fishermen to take a break from their usual activities, worried about their safety and seeing their catches dwindle.

In an interview, activists engaged in the restoration of Lake Kenyatta told Citizen Digital that it would gobble Sh1 billion in excess to restore the lake’s former glory, even as the county government of Lamu moots relocating illegal occupants of the lake’s riparian, a move that is likely to spark another row.

“There is no one who was issued a title deed to occupy the lake’s riparian. We are worried about the activities they are engaging in upstream, and that is what is silting the lake,” Lamu Deputy Governor Raphael Munyua, who is also the CEC for Enironament and Climate Change, concludes in an interview with Citizen Digital.

The report by the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, and Forestry paints a worrying picture of a country battling the extremes of a changing climate. The rising waters are causing displacement and damage, while the shrinking lake raises concerns about disrupted ecosystems and lost livelihoods.

The current situation on lakes in Kenya highlights the very real human cost of climate change. It's a story not just of rising water levels but of communities uprooted, traditions disrupted, and new dangers emerging.