Residents raise alarm over rising water levels at Kariminu II dam

Residents living near the Kariminu II dam in Gatundu North have raised concerns over forcible eviction from their homes even as water levels keep rising. 

The residents living in Kiriko village said they are living in fear, and that the rising water levels might cause landslides in the area which will put their lives and properties at risk.

The concerned residents said they were not part of the Project Affected Persons, but the dam has already flooded their properties and might submerge their homes.

“This area is sloppy and has red soil and our worst fear is landslides. We are having sleepless nights because we can wake up in the dam. Our lives are in danger,” Rachael Muthoni, a resident, said. 

They also said the water has reached their farms and that the area has been muddy.

“We suspect the water has penetrated the red soil and this is weakening our land. We seriously need help before something terrible happens,” Muthoni said.

They said their attempts to seek audience and help from the dam management has been futile.

“We have raised the matter with the dam management but no help has come forth. We want them to come and witness the danger we are facing,” James Kariuki, a resident, said. 

Kariuki said the dam is a danger to them as well as their children and livestock, and that fencing it will reduce risks of people and livestock falling into the dam.

“Just three weeks ago, a cow fell in the dam and is yet to be retrieved because the waters are already too deep,” he said.

The residents also raised concerns over rising cases of malaria, arthritis and unending flu due to the cold and mosquitoes coming from the waters.

“We’ve never experienced such cold in this village. This place becomes extremely cold, especially from evenings," Gladys Wambui, another resident, said. 

"One is forced to use more than five blankets at night. Again trips to the hospitals have become endless due to flu. This is all we are getting from this dam.”

While pleading for swift intervention from the government, the residents said the only solution is for the government to move them to safer areas by acquisition and compensation of their land.

“The government bought a section of our lands and now that the waters are already getting to our homesteads which were not bought, we plead with the government to compensate us," Naomi Wanjiru, a resident, said. 

"Eventually our homes will be submerged in the waters and yet we have nowhere else to call home.”

They pleaded with President Uhuru Kenyatta to address their plight before he leaves office.

(edited by Amol Awuor)