Naivasha residents forcefully re-open blocked corridor

There was drama in Naivasha after furious members of the public opened a blocked road corridor leading to Lake Naivasha.

The group forcefully opened the corridor near YMCA Camp and lashed out at one of the investors for having blocked it for years.

Anti-Riot Police who had arrived in the area watched from a distance as the group, mainly former workers of Karuturi Flower Farm, took space on the shores of the lake ready to start their business.

At one time, the group leader, David Kilo, who is also the chairman Lake Naivasha Boat Owners Association engaged the police in a heated debate over the corridor.

Kilo said that the corridor was a public road which had been closed by some of the flower investors adding that the National Land Commission (NLC) had proven this through their maps.

Addressing the press, Kilo noted that for years, residents had been harassed and blocked from accessing the water body by the flower farmers.

“This is a public corridor and we shall make sure that a landing beach is opened here so that sacked workers from Karuturi flower farm can benefit,” he said.

Kilo further expressed his concern over the slow manner that the government was taking to reopen all the closed corridors around the lake.

“We are deeply concerned by some investors who have encroached on the riparian land as this is affecting the ecosystem of the lake,” added Kilo.

On the other hand, one the fishermen, Harrison Wafula, welcomed the move to reopen the corridor noting that they had suffered for years.

“Hundreds of Naivasha residents cannot access Lake Naivasha as nearly all the corridors have been closed down by some flower farmers and hoteliers,” stated Wafula.

A former worker of Karuturi Farm, Janet Cheruiyot, said that their hopes of getting a source of livelihood lay with the newly opened landing beach.

“Over 3,000 workers from Karuturi have been jobless for over a year now and with this landing beach there is hope for job opportunities,” she said.

Written by Ronald Kibet