Elders file petition to stop Itare Dam project

A section of Kipsigis Council of Elders have filed a petition at a Nakuru Law Courts against the intended construction of the 34 billion shillings Itare Dam project.

In their suit, the elders cite that the rivers that are a major catchment area for water in Lake Victoria will dry up.

The petitioners further argue that the project will only favor just a few people in Nakuru while the rest will experience dramatic climatic change.

In his recent visit to Nakuru County, President Uhuru Kenyatta defended the project funded by the German government saying that water scarcity witnessed in several parts of the county, especially Rongai, will be a thing of the past once the Itare Water Project is complete.

The opposition Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD) leader, Raila Odinga, has however insisted that the project, if allowed to proceed, will be ecologically disastrous.

The CORD leader maintained that the 57 meter barrier to be built to tap water from the rivers snaking out of Mau was a potential ecological disaster that will affect at least five counties of Bomet, Nyamira, Migori, Kericho and Homa Bay with major projects at risk like the Sondu Mirio hydro-electric power and tea farming

The water project originates from the Mau water tower and terminates at the Itare dam in Kuresoi, Nakuru County.

Hearing has been set for 2nd of next month.