Nakuru County has in the recent past been in the media spotlight after flooding caused by the rising waters of Lake Naivasha displaced thousands of residents, especially in the Kihoto neighbourhood. Local media has been pursuing this story from a humanitarian angle, interviewing victims who’ve lost property, discussing potential waterborne diseases, and the much-needed evacuation, which is all justified but fails to diagnose the underlying problem that explains why this has become a routine story every year, although this year’s swelling of the lake is considered unprecedented.
When storytelling is done from a solutions journalism lens, rather than coverage seeking to draw sympathy from the audience it helps spark the what next perspective. What is now needed is proper investigative journalism to understand why Lake Naivasha is reclaiming the land. Up to now, the media has framed it as though Lake Naivasha is displacing residents, when it is quite possible that developers have encroached on the lake. In fact, Lake Naivasha was much larger in the early 20th century than it is today, and its rapid swelling over the last 15 years is something worth investigating and reporting from a geological or climate change perspective, rather than from a disaster mitigation angle.
The idea is not to ignore the suffering of the victims but to focus on the structural failures that lead to this needless loss and destruction of property or displacement of thousands every so often. The starting point in that investigative work would be to ask some tough questions:
- What is NEMA’s position on this issue? Have people illegally built on lake land? If so, how do they plan to enforce this? How feasible is a government buy-back plan for people with genuine title deeds who were duped?
- Is this an issue of climate change? If it is, what is the Climate Change Directorate within the ministry responsible for the environment saying about this? What is the plan?
- Which government agency or agencies are responsible for the implementation of the Lake Naivasha Integrated Management Plan?
- What are the international firms involved in the Privately Initiated Proposal (PIP) to advance the Naivasha Special Economic Zones Bulk Water Supply Project saying about waste management at this time, considering the €90 million that was invested in this project? What became of the €1.5 million grant from the government of the Netherlands to assist in the development phase of this project?
- What do the records at the Survey of Kenya show about the history of the lake maps and how the boundaries have shifted over time?
In short, going forward, we must give victims a break and start interviewing experts. University professors teaching geography and environmental science should be interviewed to help the public understand why Lake Naivasha has been swelling lately, why this year’s flooding was so severe, and what to expect in the future so that we can plan ahead. With that knowledge, we can identify which institutions we should be holding accountable.
We must resist the tendency to cover crises as a theatre of the absurd, overly focusing on the chaos, helplessness, or an endless loop of suffering while ignoring the systems that produce this tragedy, that if confronted would leave the audience feeling hopeful that something can be done. Lake Naivasha flooding is a result of decades of poor urban planning, possible neglect of enforcement of NEMA laws, and potential corruption and collusion between land brokers, real estate companies, and government officials in the land and environment departments. If we continue focusing solely on the victims, we are only shielding the duty bearers we need to hold accountable to prevent this cycle of pain, loss, and destruction.
Victims deserve empathy. But they also deserve journalism that offers solutions to prevent churning the same sad stories every year.
