THE National Environment Management Authority has threatened to sue a leading hotel in Homa Bay town for discharging raw sewage into Lake Victoria.

NEMA has issued a directive to Tourist Hotel ordering the management to either stop the discharge or face legal action.

In the order dated February 8, this year, NEMA observed the hotel has been polluting the lake in contravention of Environmental Management and Coordination Act (EMCA), 1999 and related legal notices dealing with waste management and water quality.

However, hotel manager John Owino said the problem had been fixed. "It was a small leakage which we have fixed," said Owino. The authority discovered the pollution when it conducted a joint inspection of the facility with officers from public health, municipal council and physical planning department.

The order issued by county environmental officer, John Maniafu, said the laws oblige all people to conserve the environment and forbid people from polluting while spelling stiff penalties for culprits on conviction.

Maniafu ordered the management to connect the hotel's sewer lines to the Homa Bay Municipal Council line that directs raw sewage to the town's treatment plant. Penalties range from imprisonment to fine ranging between sh500, 000 to sh1, 000, 000 on conviction in a court of law.