Francis Mureithi And George Munene
12 July 2009
Nairobi — Baboons and monkeys are invading people's homes and taking away food from kitchens as rain failure continues.
Indeed, residents of Nakuru Town near Lake Nakuru National Park are now living in fear following the constant invasion by baboons into their homes.
Residents of Racetrack, Lake View, Mwariki and parts of Free Area Estate are now asking the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) to intervene.
Prolonged drought
Following the prolonged drought, the animals have been invading the estates in search of food as most of the trees and vegetation have been affected by the dry spell.
The animals are also suffering following a severe shortage of water as most of the water points in the park have dried up.
River Ndarugu and other seasonal rivers feeding the park have since dried up, worsening the problem.
Those who spoke to the Nation said the situation had become so bad that the animals were now invading their kitchens at will and taking away food.
"Our kitchens are no longer safe, because the baboons are now calling the shots, and once they are inside, they take away all our food," said Ms Agnes Ndasaba, a resident of Race Track.
She said they were living in fear, and women and children could no longer go about their daily chores for fear of being attacked by baboons.
A senior area KWS official who requested not to be named, said that following the drying up of rivers flowing to the park, the animals were feeling the effect of human destruction of the environment.
"The residents will continue to get these strange visitors until the situation improves at the park. The animals are also facing hunger and that is why they are invading homes," said the KWS official.
However, he promised to forward the residents' complaints to the relevant authorities before the situation gets out of hand.
Mother nature
"We are fully aware of the problem, but since this is a mother nature problem, there is always a limit to what KWS can do, as this is a matter of life and death for both animals and human beings," the official said.
Elsewhere, a minister called for the acute water shortage in the country to be declared a national disaster.
Nairobi Metropolitan Development minister Njeru Githae said the most affected areas were towns.
Speaking to the Press after presiding over a prize-giving ceremony for St Agnes Boarding Primary School in Kirinyaga West District, Mr Githae attributed the shortage to prolonged dry spell and interference with main water towers.
He said water in rivers and dams had reduced to worrying levels adding that the lives of the people were now threatened.
To survive, he said the Ministry of Water should start reserving water in dams, to be used during hard times.
"Much of the water that goes to the oceans should be dammed if we are to survive," he said.
Mr Githae also called on Kenyans to start harvesting rain water as a measure against water scarcity.
He said harvested water could be used for irrigation and drinking and Kenyans should wake up and embark on such a vital activity for their benefit.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2009 The Nation. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
