River of contrasts, Nzoia supports and destroys lives

My home is in Moi's Bridge, a small town located on the Kitale-Eldoret road.

It is a place that gives and takes life and I would like to tell you how. 

In the town is a river named Nzoia, which acts as a boundary between Uasin Gishu and Trans Nzoia counties.

The river generates income for people who have settled along its course as it provides water for irrigation during the dry season.  It has given the two counties the potential to be called Kenya’s “food baskets'' besides generating wealth for the region and beyond.

The river also creates employment opportunities through the harvesting and sale of sand, which is used in the building and construction industry.

River Nzoia employs hundreds of young people who are engaged as labourers in the sand industry, harvesting it, sieving and loading it in lorries.

Moi's Bridge

It is rumoured that this work pays the locals very well.

When unemployment was rife in Moi's Bridge, there was a lot of insecurity and this interfered with other businesses as people were afraid of venturing out. River employment has sorted this out. However, there is a danger that this river poses that people who do not live in Moi's Bridge  do not know. The river has contributed to negative activities that have destroyed many a young person’s life—drug abuse.

The locals complain that Nzoia water is used to manufacture illicit brews such as chang'aa. Many young men have been hooked to the liquor and their lives have been ruined. Many have dropped out of school as parents neglect their roles, ruining families.

Every election year, politicians use the river as vote bait. They keep promising locals that they will end the drug abuse in the constituency and near the river but so far, none of them has honoured their pledges.

Child labour

While many young people have found jobs in the industries around the river, it has also encouraged child labour and exploitation because many under-age boys are employed there.

I have met two minors working there and it was heartbreaking. The children said that it was their parents who sometimes pushed them to do these jobs.

Many people have also used the river to end their lives. In the last three months, about seven people have died in River Nzoia. The locals do not talk about these negative stories because they consider them a disgrace. But overall, Moi’s Bridge is a good place to live.

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