Petitioners reject KFS report over suitability for human consumption of fish in Lake Nakuru

KWS  Director General Dr Erustus Kanga before the Senate Committee on National Security at Bunge Towers, Parliament, Nairobi on March 24,2026.[Elvis Ogina, Standard]

The petitioners regarding the forced disappearance of young fishermen in Lake Nakuru have rejected a report by the Kenya Fisheries Services regarding the suitability for human consumption of the fish at the lake.

Tom Mboya and Dr Peter Mbae, who have brought a petition to the Senate National Security and Defence Committee, accused the Kenya Fisheries Services of not being involved in the sampling exercise as the committee had recommended earlier.

Mboya accused the KFS management of not involving them on the date they had agreed on, and that they were earlier informed that they were to meet, only to be informed four hours later, when the exercise had already been done, and there was no reason for them to go to the lake.

 "I would like to inform the Senate that we, the petitioners, reject in total the report tabled by Kenya Fisheries Services regarding the suitability for human consumption of the fish in Lake Nakuru since they chose not to involve us during sampling, which raises questions,” said Mboya.

The Senate Committtee chaired by Isiolo Senator Fatuma Dullo, last month directed the Fisheries Department to conduct research to establish the suitability of the consumption of fish from Lake Nakuru following doubts raised by petitioners over the veracity of the reports.

The Senate National Security and Defence Committee had given Acting Director General of the Kenya Fisheries Service Daisy Muriuki two weeks to table a report on the results of the tests done on the fish from Lake Nakuru while involving all the stakeholders in the exercise.

The Senate directed the Kenya Wildlife Services to immediately stop illegal fishing in Lake Nakuru National Park, even as there are claims of powerful individuals involved in illegal fishing of fish that are considered to be unfit for human consumption.

The Senate National Security, Defence and Foreign Relations Committee, which was meeting with petitioners regarding the forced disappearances of young fishermen at the Lake Nakuru National Park, said there was an urgent need to stop the illegal fishing for health reasons.  

"We are concerned that while the ordinary fishermen are being arrested by Kenya Wildlife Services officers for conducting illegal fishing in Lake Nakuru National Park, we have influential individuals carrying out illegal fishing of the harmful fish, which are then supplied across the country to unsuspecting Kenyans,” said Dr Mbae.

Mboya called for the review of the Kenya Wildlife Services Act to allow for fishing in the Lake Nakuru National Park and the implementation of a report done by KWS in order to ensure that the Lake is cleaned so as to ensure that the fish produced are safe for human consumption.

KWS Director General Erastus Kanga defended the state agency against allegations of being behind the forced disappearances of youths engaged in illegal fishing at the Lake, saying the accusations made by the petitioners were general in nature and did not have specific cases.

The Director General told the Senate Committee that the Lake Nakuru National Park was a protected area and that nobody who has gotten there formally for the last 1O years has been reported as missing, and that they have records that can be tabled to prove that.

" KWS categorically denies any involvement in torture or any forced disappearances of youths involved in illegal fishing in Lake Nakuru. It should be noted that this is a protected area with the fishing said to be unfit for human consumption due to pollution in the Lake,” said Kanga.

Dr Mbae asked the Senate Committee to consider visiting the Lake and establishing whether the matters they have raised, and when asked to substantiate on the matter of influential individuals engaged in illegal fishing, he said that will be established while on the ground.

Mboya said that it was upon the Senate to verify whether what they have said is true or not, and that the reason why they decided to seek their help is that their communication channels with KWS had broken down, and they could no longer engage to sort out any emerging issues.

 The petitioners pointed out that the last time the Senate Committee visited the area, they were misled to believe that it was not safe to meet the locals on a fact-finding mission and that they had always been about protecting the interests of locals who had been suffering for a long time.

"We are appealing for a lasting solution by ensuring that the fishing is legalised at Lake Nakuru and the implementation of recommendations made to clean the lake; we do not want our youths to continue disappearing while influential individuals are engaged in illegal fishing,” said Mboya.

Kanga told the Senate that illegal fishing in Lake Nakuru might lead to a national health crisis and that, due to heavy rains, the lake has broken its banks and locals were accessing fish near their homes, not knowing the risk they were putting their lives into through their consumption.

 The KWS Director said that if the law were to be changed to allow fishing in the Lake Nakuru National Park, it meant that it had to apply to all the other national parks across the country and that they were concerned about the well-being of Kenyans at all times.

Kanga told Senators that the Park was generating Sh 1.1 billion revenue to the government annually and that they were continuously engaging local communities to address their concerns, arguing that they do not have to be involved in illegal fishing to survive.

"Instead of engaging in illegal fishing, the youths can be tour guides, drivers, and guards of the lakes' boundaries, and we are ready to support them. KWS has always had the best interests of the country in conducting its activities,” said Kanga.