Kenyans may be consuming fish not fit for human consumption after the Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen unearthed a syndicate harvesting toxic fish and repackaging it as Tilapia from Kisumu.
Speaking in Nakuru County, where he was attending the Jukwaa la Usalama forum on Tuesday, August 12, Murkomen warned that cartels that own big cold rooms and refrigerators harvest fish unfit for human consumption from Lake Nakuru.
According to the CS these people harvest the fish, use their lorries to transport it to Kisumu, where they are repackaged and re-transported to major towns and cities as Tilapia from Kisumu, purporting to be safe, yet they are unsafe for human consumption.
"Also of great concern to us is the unlawful fishing in Lake Nakuru, which is also being supported by big men with refrigerated cold rooms here together with lorries that come to carry that fish,'' Murkomen explained.
"It must be noted by the public that this is not fish fit for human Consumption. What is sad is that it is sometimes transported to Kisumu and brought back like Tilapia from Kisumu," the CS continued.
Lake Nakuru, known for its alkaline waters, is not a natural habitat for edible fish.
Many times, experts have cautioned against consuming fish from the lake due to high levels of pollution and chemical runoff from the surrounding urban area.
However, Murkomen has noted that the unlawful trade continues to thrive, fuelled by profit and impunity from people the CS termed as 'big people'.
To stop the unlawful trade, the CS has revealed that the government is deploying multi-agency task forces from the Ministry of Interior, in collaboration with the Kenya Wildlife Services (KWS) and local security teams, to crack down on the syndicate.
So far, the CS has hailed efforts by KWS, who he noted have already incorporated the use of technology to monitor lake activity, track suspicious transport routes, and identify cold storage facilities linked to the trade.
"Our security team in a multi agency approach is working together with KWS, and we must deal a final blow in this unlawful fishing.
"I am glad technology is being applied by KWS to make sure that the monitary activities in the lake are dealt with," Murkomen reported.
