The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) has announced the indefinite closure of Ol-Jorowa gorge at Hell’s Gate National Park in Naivasha following the death of seven people on Sunday.
In a statement issued on Monday evening, KWS confirmed that all the seven victims had been accounted for, bringing to an end the search and rescue mission.
“The search and rescue operation has been called off this afternoon after bodies of all the missing tourists and their guide were accounted for. Meanwhile, the gorge has been closed indefinitely due to ongoing rains in the region. However, other parts of the popular park remain open to the public,” the KWS statement reads in parts as quoted by Citizen Digital.
While this move is more of a knee-jerk reaction by a seemingly clueless government agency that is quick to act after a disaster has struck rather than seeking to avert the same, the closure of Hell's Gate should have been done like yesterday and remain as such 'till further notice'.
Here is why;
1. Hell's Gate is a death trap that continues to munch lives
KWS officials who have spoken to various media outlets following the Sunday disaster asserts that it doesn’t have to rain at Hell's Gate for floods to swamp the gorges. Floods triggered by rains in neighbouring counties such as Nakuru and Nyandarua, they say, end up in the area catching visitors off-guard.
2. It is not the first time, yet nothing seems to have been done after a past disaster
In 2012, seven PCEA Church youthful members died as a result of floods at the same Ol Jorwa gorge. The floods then, just as in Sunday's case, struck with no forewarning.
That is to say, if some precautionary measures had been taken after the 2012 disaster, perhaps we could have averted the recurrence of the same 7 years later. But since we are good at rushing to disaster scenes after the damage has already been done, why not close the place down even if it is for good.
3. There is an apparent lack of synergy between KWS and the Meteorological Department
If there was one, the Meteorological Dept should have been able to advise and warn KWS that there was an impending disaster on the horizon. Till this working synergy between the two government agencies can be established and visitors assured of their safety, the gorges should remain a no-go-zone!