Over 50 flower farm workers were left homeless after fire broke out in Kasarani estate in North Lake, Naivasha, burning two residential houses.
Nothing was salvaged from the houses according to a witness James Ochido as the workers were not in while the strong winds worsened the situation.
“The fire erupted from one of the houses and due to the strong winds it spread very fast burning to ashes all the houses and the personal effects,” he said.
Earlier, another fire broke near Gatamaiyu trading center had burnt down vegetation in the area and threatened to spread to neighbouring flower farms and homesteads.
“We suspect that pastoralists in the area caused the fire which destroyed over 50 acres of vegetation around the dry area before it was contained,” he said.
Meanwhile, cases of bush meat trade are on the rise in Naivasha with the ongoing drought blamed for the increase which has seen wild animals stray into areas inhabited by human beings.
In the last one week, KWS officers have managed to recover over 300kgs of game meat and arrested four suspects found engaging in the illegal vice.
In the latest incident, a 65-year-old man was arrested in Kongoni area along Moi North Lake road slaughtering a zebra.
A search in his house found over 100kgs of meat from other wild animals raising fear that the suspect had been selling the product to unsuspecting members of the public.
According to a junior KWS officer who is not authorized to speak to the press, they were recording at least two cases of killed wild animals every week.
He attributed this to the displacement of wild animals from their natural habitats to residential areas as they sought pastures and water.
“Today we have arrested a suspect in Kongoni area slaughtering a zebra that he had trapped and recovered suspected game meat in his house,” said the officer.
A conservationist Grace Wafula said that the most affected areas were those neighboring Mt Longonot and Hellsgate national parks.
She said that over 60 percent of wild animals in the parks had fled to neighboring farms in search of pastures thus exposing them to poachers.
“The animals are even spotted along the Nairobi-Nakuru highway and some poachers have taken advantage to trap them and sell the meat to members of the public,” she said.
