Storm brewing in Laikipia County over hogging of rivers

After the infamous herders-ranchers conflict in Laikipia County over pasture that has left a trail of death and destruction to property, the northern Kenya semi-arid county could yet again be embroiled in a conflict over water pitting large-scale farmers and households in the county.

As the dry spell continues to hit hard, large-scale farmers in up stream areas are opting to block rivers to store water for their crops – a situation that is causing jitters to down stream household users and small-scale farmers.

People who live down stream have risen in protest accusing the large-scale farmers of denying them the scarce commodity at such a critical time.

Residents of Mutara area in Salama Ward have threatened to take the law into their own hands if the farmers up stream will not unblock Mutara river, which they claim is their sole source of water.

The residents are complaining of being compelled to walk for long distances, up to four kilometres, in search of water, or to buy the precious commodity at a cost of between Ksh30 to Ksh50 per 20-litre jerry can.

They are now asking the government to intervene and have the normal flow of rivers restored, adding that they are at risk of contracting communicable diseases from consuming unsafe water.

They are also demanding for removal of a water engineer from Laikipia County whom they are accusing of irregularly issuing large-scale farmers with permits to block the rivers.

Meanwhile, Mombasa County residents are living in fear of an outbreak of water-borne diseases amid acute water shortage in the coastal county.

A spot-check by Citizen Digital shows a sharp rise in water prices by vendors from Ksh20 to between Ksh80 and Ksh100 per 20-litre jerry can

The worst-hit areas include; Chaani in Changamwe, Mla Leo and Bamburi in Kisauni.

A section of residents are now forced to use salty water from boreholes and at times rely on well-wishers who supply them with fresh water.

A Mombasa based businessman, Peterson Mitau, donated over 25,000 liters of water to the struggling residents, but urged both the national and county government to intervene and address the problem.

(Story reported by Peter Mwangi and Patrick Kanga, written by Moses Ngugi)