A Tanzanian team of experts formed to investigate why the Mara River waters were turning blackish and causing fish to die said yesterday that they found no contamination.
But they said their contract did not require them to look into the river’s long-term challenges.
The team of 11, including environmental activists, announced their findings a few days after another group, from the Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC), issued their report.
The first team was created by environment minister Selemani Jafo following reports that the river’s waters were turning blackish and fish were dying.
But yesterday, Prof Samwel Manyele, the chairman of the panel, told reporters in Dodoma that floods were causing the Mara River’s waters to turn blackish.
“This is because of the mud it collects, which was, however, not the cause of fish deaths. Rather, they died after being deprived of oxygen,” he said.
Prof Manyele, from the Faculty of Chemistry at the University Dar es Salaam, said accumulated urine and feaces from livestock grazing in wetlands were swept into the river by rains.
He said his team also found signs of oil, which was later found to be relatively harmless. Further investigations showed that it resulted from the decomposition of living organisms in the wetlands of the Mara River. He said there were no signs of the presence of petroleum.
“The team efficiently fulfilled its responsibilities and involved everyone who was required to participate in the process, including experts from different authorities,” he said.
He stressed that his team did not look for anything other than the change in appearance of the Mara River waters and why fish were dying.
“We did not investigate other effects. What I can say is that the fish and water have not been contaminated, and they pose no threat to humans,” he said.
The team announced its report on March 19, showing that pollution in the river was caused by higher levels of animal feaces and the decomposition of plants.
The results were met with uproar from several quarters.
LHRC was among the critics of the report. They released their own findings showing that 300,000 cattle and 160,000 goats and sheep that graze in the area were the cause of the pollution.
LHRC director Anna Henga said their investigators found long-term problems that had caused skin diseases on humans and killed animals that had consumed the water. BY DAILY NATION