By Ayiro Lwala
Yala Swamp is no ordinary wetland. As Kenya’s largest freshwater swamp, it provides fish, papyrus, grazing land, fertile soils, clean water and protection against floods. For generations, it has sustained my people and nature. Yet today, this treasure is being carved up at an alarming rate, and its future hangs in the balance.
This natural gem has drawn the attention of investors eager to convert vast portions into large-scale farms. They see profit in rice, sugarcane and other commercial crops. With deep pockets and political influence, they scramble for leases and concessions, each determined to secure a bigger slice of the wetland. What plays out is cut-throat competition, a race to exploit land and resources with little regard for the delicate ecological systems that make Yala invaluable.
Expanding agribusiness clears papyrus, drains wetlands and displaces local communities from places where they earn livelihoods. Fish breeding grounds are destroyed, bird habitats vanish, pollution soars, and natural flood regulation weakens. In the pursuit of billions, the priceless environmental services of Yala Swamp are being decimated.
The irony is painful. During a community meeting on sustainable use of the swamp, 73-year-old Mama Alice Achando gave a moving account of how past large-scale land allocations devastated her village. She recalled how what was once a dry-season lifeline for food production was handed over to private investors, cutting off local families from fertile lands they had depended on for generations.
Traditional food security systems collapsed, leaving households in poverty. Vital lakes like Kanyaboli and Nyamboyo dried up after water inflows were blocked, killing fish stocks and stripping communities of both food and income. Livestock that wandered into the investors’ fields were confiscated, whilst some villagers faced arrest for simply passing through land that had once been communal.
Mama Alice described how her once-thriving Mugane village, rich with fish and sweet potatoes, descended into hardship. Her story was so raw and powerful that it moved many in the gathering to tears.
Investors chase short-term profit, yet the true wealth of Yala lies in its ability to provide food security, water purification, climate resilience and biodiversity. Destroying these services for quick cash is stealing from our future.
We cannot afford silence. Communities, conservationists and citizens should demand accountability from leaders who sign away public resources for private gain. The choice is stark: will Yala Swamp be sacrificed to commercial greed, or will it be safeguarded as the living system that supports millions of lives?