Writes Leo Odera Omolo In Mbita Town.
The relocation and the introduction of new species of wild animals at the strategically important Ruma National Game Park in Lambwe Valley, Mbita district within Homa-Bay County is a commendable project which is expected to boost the volume of tourism in the region..
Many year ago, the Ruma Park used to be very rich with all species of wild life including the “Big Five” until the year 1936 when the colonial authority ordered for the physical and forceful removal and relocation of elephants.
It was done in a very crude manner in which the local communities were forced to drive away elephants. Thousands of villagers were rounded up by security personnel and forced into driving the animals out of their sanctuary by way of beating up drums, empty tins, while tribal policemen fired their guns in the air to scare the jumbos out of their natural habitat in Lambwe Valley.
The elephant population in Lambwe Valley at the time was estimated to be in the region of 80 or 100. The action taken by colonialists was due to human settlement pressure and complaints raised by the locals through their chiefs that the animals were becoming a real menace to human being and their food grains.
All the herds were driven past village and locations up to the border of the then old and greater South Nyanza district and Narok and abandoned at a pace called Sikawa, Some of the animal escaped from one of the biggest dragnet mounted by human beings against animals by night falls were left behind hiding in a small forest called Ang’we which used to located about 6 kilometers south east of Awendo Town.
The herds that were left at Ang’we found the area was swampy and always water logged and moved out following the footsteps the rest into the Maasailand. Nobody thought at the time that these animals would at some day in the future turns out to be the national assets for the country.
The project of restocking of the Ruma Park is part of the government plan to resuscitate the 48 year old “Western Kenya Tourist Circuit” which was launched in 1967 by the Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife, but which has all along these years reined I the drawing board without being implemented.
In early 1962 the County Council, of South Nyanza under the able leadership of the late Mzee Paul Mboya Akoko had renewed its demand to the Colonial Administration in Kenya to consider the possibility of repatriating the elephants back to Lambwe Valley from the Trans-Mara region. But the Council was told this could not be feasible due to increased human population and settlement.
Ruma National Game Pak in Lambwe Valley is administratively under Mbita district. However, geographically the park is more close to Ndhiwa and Gwassi districts and about 23 kilometers from Homa-Bay Town, which has already been chosen to b the regional County administrative headquarters under the devolution in according to the new constitution dispensation.
The communities living within the four districts of Mbita, Homa-Bay, Ndhiwa and Gwassi economically stand to gain considerably from its resources.
The Park is famous for hosting rare animal species such as the Roan Antelope {Omoro}, beautiful, but one of the fiercest wild animals, Roth Child Giraffe, and the tiny Oribi antelope {othwele}
Officials at the Park disclosed that the KWS has relocated 100 zebras, 21 black rhinos and two white rhinos, 10 wildebeest –all removed from conservancy in Laikipia and Kitale.
The project of restocking the park with more wildlife was recently launched by the forestry an Wildlife Minister Dr Noah Wekesa who said the government was committed in bringing tourism in the area at par with other parks in the country. He added that the tourism, which is number one Kenya’s foreign exchange earner, is the backbone of the nation’s economy.
Tourism, the Minister said” is our foreign income generating approximately Kshs 100,000 million, and contributing ten per cent of the national budget.”
The Minister advised the local communities to value and preserves the resource for the future generations.
A senior Game Warden Daniel Rono disclosed that plans are underway to introduce other species of wildlife including ostriches. About 70 herds of buffaloes have survived in the park all these year, though their numbers has been dwindling due to excessive poaching.
On the top of the nearby Ruma Hills in which the park drives its name from, there are the unique species of antelope which are white in color and called by locals “Nyambaja”, and which are found nowhere in Kenya, but the herds which the local estimated to be around 80 or more rarely come down to the plains. The herds could only be seen while grazing majestically and jumping on the rocks after green pasture on the top of the hills are torched,
These are mountain species of animals, which stays out of the reach of the poachers, though not gazette nor mentioned anywhere in the government official document as exiting or endangered as one of the protected wildlife and are believed to have survived for centuries
The KWS should move e much faster and carrying a thorough research o establishes the existence of this very special species of animals, which the local says is lightly smaller than impala or bush-buck and reedbuck. These animals rarely come down the slop I search of water and it is believed to be depending on small springs available on top of the hills. Leopard, hyenas and pythons are some of the predators.
With newly improved roads the project is expected to benefit the communities living within the vicinity of Ruma National Game Park. The part could be accessed either via Homa-Bay town, Mbita Town or Mirogi Trading Center in Ndhia which is the nearest of the main gate of the Forest, only eleven kilometers. The road from Rodi-Kopany is now well done on termak, the same with the Homa-Bay Mbita Road. Tourists and visitors travelling from Kisumu could access the Park via Mbita Ferry which is plying between Luanda Kotieno on the mainland Uyoma and Mbita and then drive on he newly constructed tarmac road which can now link Mbita to the Ruma National Park.
Visitors may be booked to dozens of tourist class hotels such as Tausi Hotel at Rodi Kopany, Homa-Bay Tourist Hotel, Ndhiwa Hotel in Ndhiwa, Rusinga Holiday Inn, ICIPE Guest House, Mbita Beach Resort. There are several tourist class hotels in Mbita Town and one top class luxury hotel at Kamasengre next to the home of the late Mr Tom Mboya,Mbita Beach Resort, and several.
Visitor would also have easy access to pre-historic sites such as the legendary Nyamgondho Wuod Ombare site next to Nyandiwa Center in Central Gwassi, Nyama Gi Ware Rocks next to Wanyama fishing landing beach in Rusinga Island, birds watchers should find themselves very comfortable in Mfangano Island where there is also a tourist class hotel and many pre-historic sites.
The myth of Soklo Kipenji rocky Island nr Usawo, which many people believes no human being has ever set foot on, and where even birds fear to land on.
Ends
Subject: KWS project of restocking Ruma National Game Park in Subba region with new species of wildlife is commendable job
RESTOCKING OF RUMA NATIONAL GAME PARK WITH MORE WILD ANIMALS IS A COMMENDABLE PROJECT EXPECTED TO BOOST TOURISM IN HOMA-BAY COUNTY.
Writes Leo Odera Omolo In Mbita Town.
The relocation and the introduction of new species of wild animals at the strategically important Ruma National Game Park in Lambwe Valley, Mbita district within Homa-Bay County is a commendable project which is expected to boost the volume of tourism in the region..
Many year ago, the Ruma Park used to be very rich with all species of wild life including the “Big Five” until the year 1936 when the colonial authority ordered for the physical and forceful and physical removal and relocation of elephants.
It was done in a very crude manner in which the local communities were forced to drive away elephants. Thousands of villagers were rounded up by security personnel and forced into driving the animals out of their sanctuary by way of beating up drums, empty tins, while tribal policemen fired their guns in the air to scare the jumbos out of their natural habitat in Lambwe Valley.
The elephant population in Lambwe Valley at the time was estimated to be in the region of 80 or 100. The action taken by colonialist was due to human settlement pressure and complaints raised by the locals through their chiefs that the animal were becoming a real menace to human being and their food grains.
All the herds were driven past village and locations up to the border of the then old and greater South Nyanza district and Narok and abandoned at a pace called Sikawa, Some of the animal escaped from one of the biggest dragnet mounted by human beings against animals by night falls were left behind hiding in a small forest called Ang’we which used to located about 6 kilometers south east of Awendo Town.
The herds that were left at Ang’we found the area was swampy and always water logged and moved out following the footsteps the rest into the Maasailand. Nobody thought at the time that these animals would at some days in the future turns out to be the national assets for the country.
The project of restocking of the Ruma Park is part of the government plan to resuscitate the 48 year old “Western Kenya Tourist Circuit” which was launched in 1967 by the Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife, but which has all along these years reined I the drawing board without being implemented.
In early 1962 the County Council, of South Nyanza under the able leadership of the late Mzee Paul Mboya Akoko had renewed its demand to the Colonial Administration in Kenya to consider the possibility of repatriating the elephants back to Lambwe Valley from the Trans-Mara region. But the Council was told this could not be feasible due to increased human population and settlement.
Ruma National Game Park in Lambwe Valley is administratively under Mbita district. However, geographically the park is more close to Ndhiwa and Gwassi districts and about 23 kilometers from Homa-Bay Town, which has already been chosen to b the regional County administrative headquarters under the devolution in according to the new constitution dispensation.
The communities living within the four districts of Mbita, Homa-Bay, Ndhiwa and Gwassi economically stand to gain considerably from its resources.
The Park is famous for hosting rare animal species such as the Roan Antelope {Omoro}, beautiful, but one of the fiercest wild animals, Roth Child Giraffe, the tiny Oribi antelope and dik-dik {othwele} Officials at the Park disclosed that the KWS has relocated 100 zebras, 21 black rhinos and two white rhinos, 10 wildebeest –all removed from conservancy in Laikipia and Kitale.
The project of restocking the park with more wildlife was recently launched by the forestry an Wildlife Minister Dr Noah Wekesa who said the government was committed in bringing tourism in the area at par with other parks in the country. He added that the tourism, which is number one Kenya’s foreign exchange earner, is the backbone of the nation’s economy.
Tourism, the Minister said” is our foreign income generating approximately Kshs 100,000 million, and contributing ten per cent of the national budget.”
The Minister advised the local communities to value and preserves the resource for the future generations.
A senior Game Warden Daniel Rono disclosed that plans are underway to introduce other species of wildlife including ostriches. About 70 herds of buffaloes have survived in the park all these year, though their numbers has been dwindling due to excessive poaching.
On the top of the nearby Ruma Hills in which the park drives its name from, there are the unique species of antelope which are white in color and called by locals “Nyambaja”, and which are found nowhere in Kenya, but the herds which the local estimated to be around 80 or more rarely come down to the plains. The herds could only be seen while grazing majestically and jumping on the rocks after green pasture on the top of the hills are torched,
These are mountain species of animals, which stays out of the reach of the poachers, though not gazette nor mentioned anywhere in the government official document as exiting or endangered as one of the protected wildlife and are believed to have survived for centuries The KWS should move e much faster and carrying a thorough research to establish the existence of this very special species of animals, which the local says is lightly smaller than impala or bush-buck and reed-buck. These animals rarely come down the slop I search of water and it is believed to be depending on small springs available on top of the hills. Leopard, hyenas and pythons are some of the predators.
With newly improved roads the project is expected to benefit the communities living within the vicinity of Ruma National Game Park. The part could be accessed either via Homa-Bay town, Mbita Town or Mirogi Trading Center in Ndhiwa which is the nearest o the main gate of the Forest, only eleven kilometers. The road from Rodi-Kopany is now well done on tarmac, the same with the Homa-Bay Mbita Road. Tourists and visitors traveling from Kisumu could access the Park via Mbita Ferry which is plying between Luanda Kotieno on the mainland Uyoma and Mbita and then drive on he newly constructed tarmac road which can now link Mbita to the Ruma National Park.
Visitors may b e booked to dozens of tourist class hotels such as Tausi Hotel at Rodi Kopany, Homa-Bay Tourist Hotel, the ultra modern Village Resort hotel at Ndhiwa, Rusinga Holiday Inn, ICIPE Guest House, Mbita Beach Resort. There are several tourist class hotels in Mbita Town and one top class luxury hotel at Kamasengre next to the home of the late Mr Tom Mboya, Mbita Beach Resort, and several.
Visitor would also have easy access to pre-historic sites such as the legendary Nyamgondho Wuod Ombare site next to Nyandiwa Center in Central Gwassi, Nyama Gi Ware Rocks next to Wanyama fishing landing beach in Rusinga Island, birds watchers should find themselves very comfortable in Mfangano Island where there is also a tourist class hotel and many pre-historic sites.
The myth of Soklo Kipenji rocky Island near Usawo, which many people believes no human being has ever set foot on, and where even birds fear to land on could b unearthed.Unconfirmed rumor making the round that two European explorers who defied the advice of the local and pedaled their canoe to this Island in 1934 perished never of be seen or heard again.
Ends
I have agreed with all that is in the topic but disagree with the writer on one thing,Ruma national park is not in mbita district it is only close to the boarder of mbita and homa bay this is because from the gate to lambe high school is about 4kilmetres.and that is where the settlement scheme starts and also the boarder between suba and mbita.so the park is in suba and it only boarders the other 3 district- mbita,homabay and ndhiwa district.just like mbita ,homa bay can also boast of having tourist facilities over suba district and that could only be the advantage they have over suba.
I am not in disagreement with Bazil Nyagilo at all, but what I know is that the Game Park is administered from Mbita. If it is the question of geographical closeness, the Ndhiwa people would claim the park as theis because from Kanyamwa Ndere area you walk into the park or even from Kwabwayi can walk into the park directly, and furthermore anyone walking from Ligega in Kanyamwa can also walk into the park directly. But what is on the ground as for now is that most of the parks administration is carried out in Mbita. I am also aware that Gwassi land like Ndhiwa and Homa-Bay are next to the park. Moreover Homa-Bay town is a distance of 23 kilometers, bu the district has the boundary stretching fro Kakaeta to the :Lake Victoria a distance of over 15 kilometers.The District Officer in-charge of Lambwe Division of Mbita is the one looking after the affairs of the park I therefore don’t see the rationale of this argument, but it is up to the communities living there to decide which district among the four they think would be suitable to take care of the park administratively. It is not my responsibility as simple reporter to make a decision as to where it does not exist, but to inform the pubic about what is on the ground as for now. So far there has never been any boundary dispute between the four districts reported in anywhere or in any forum.
Leo Odera Omolo
The move to re-stock” Roan valley” is a blessing to the Homa bay county as this will go along way to boost the western kenya tourism circuit. This is a challenge to us the inhabitants of suba & mbita districts to exploit this move to empower us economically by proving facilities that ensure the tourist not only visit the park and leave but have some quality time in the region.
Thanks Leo for the History. mbita town is already preparing for the influx of guests to the region and already hotels like Bimoss hotel, Mbita tourist hotel and Rusinga Guest house and other upcoming facilities are up to the tourist standard and only requires support.