Deadly waters: Lake Naivasha claims over 20 lives in hippo attacks, drownings

Over twenty people have been killed by hippos or drowned while illegally fishing in Lake Naivasha since the year began according to data from the Lake Naivasha Network Group.

The most affected are former flower farm workers and residents of various informal settlements that surround the lake with the numbers rising by the week.

This came as a middle aged ‘foot-fisherman’ drowned near Kamera landing beach in South Lake while on a fishing mission.

According to Grace Nyambura the Groups chairperson, lack of employment coupled by the harsh economic times had pushed tens of youths into the lake.

She noted that despite the presence of the Kenya Coast Guards, the youths were illegally fishing leading to an increase in cases of hippo attacks and drowning.

“Every fortnight we are losing a person to drowning or hippo attacks and its time that we sought an alternative source of livelihood for our brothers,” she said.

Nyambura said that in the latest incident, the deceased was in a group of foot-fishermen when he slipped and fell into an underwater tunnel.

“Efforts to by his colleagues to rescue him were fruitless and the body was recovered hours later and taken to the Naivasha sub-county hospital mortuary,” she said.

On his part, Francis Muthui, the chairman of Friends of Lake Naivasha said that the majority of those who had drowned in the lake were aged below 25 years.

He revisited an incident where two men aged 20 and 21 years drowned in Kasarani area while illegally fishing on the shores of the lake.

“We are deeply concerned by the rising cases of drowning in the lake involving very young men and it’s time the necessary arms of the government intervened,” he said

Muthui noted that in the last couple of years, the number of the hippos had also doubled against the rising water levels leading to an increase in the fatal attacks.

“Due to an increase in the number of the illegal fishermen and reduced grazing spaces, the animals have become very wild attacking anyone on sight,” he said.

The Wildlife Research and Training Institute (WRTI) has termed the number of hippos in the lake as ‘healthy’ despite rising cases of fatal attacks.  

The research institute noted that a census conducted last year indicated that the lake had over 500 hippos which were optimal with the number rising gradually.