Naivasha: History
The Maasai people were the first group to settle on the basin due to their quest for pasture and water for their livestock. This is rumored to have been around the 15th century when they moved down from the present day Sudan. Later in the 16th century, the Bantu people including various tribes started their migration into the basin from the Central African forests. The most populous tribe in Naivasha is the Kikuyu. European settlers are also major settlers in Naivasha. They arrived in the 19th century.
The town is home to the Isahakia community, descendants of Isaaq soldiers and traders that settled in Kenya in the 1900s.
In the late 1970s–1980s Lake Naivasha was overrun with poachers and foreign creatures were introduced into the lake to provide fishing. The migratory paths along Lake Naivasha were being destroyed by the local rose industry. The naturalist Joan Root (1936–2006), spent the last decade of her life trying to save the lake and its wildlife.
A resort in Naivasha was the location for much of the negotiations of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement ending the Second Sudanese Civil War, commonly known as the "Naivasha Agreement".