Lake Victoria's ever-rising water levels have displaced more than 1,000 residents of Kamnwa village in Kisumu County.
With the rising tides of Lake Victoria gaining ground with every passing day, hundreds of acres of ancestral land in Kamnwa village remain deserted
The entire location may be displaced in the next long rain season, as any overflow from the Sondu Miriu River could spell doom for thousands of villagers.
According to Citizen Digital, an aura of destitution hangs above abandoned homesteads, paths overrun by water, and some structures swallowed by high papyrus reeds, which show strong signs of a nearby ghost village in West Nyakach.
The few who still brave the waters have to contend with the possibility of their roofs caving in due to their homes' soggy state.
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“Mimi nimehama mara saba, siwezi sema ni mara moja…nyumba kama ile nikijenga maji ikuje si inaanguka, sasa kukaa ni shida. Alafu sasa viboko pia tunakaa tu nazo kwa mlango na ni kitu huwezi kaa nayo kwa mlango, inaua watu,” said a victim, Florence Mbok.
Even the dead are not spared; only those who cemented the graves of their loved ones have survived the wrath of the water.
Residents have accused both levels of government of failing to heed their plea to set up gabions along a 15-kilometer stretch to prevent the backflow from Lake Victoria.
“Aduma, Nyong’o, Tom Ojienda, kujeni mtusaidie sisi, tumeshindwa na kuhama na maji kila siku,” lamented Norah Obonyo
Beatrice Atieno added; “Sijawaiona Nyong'o na macho yangu. Aduma nilimuona tu siku alikuja hapa kuomba kura na MCA Ojembo. Nashangaa mko wapi na maji inatuua.”
