Even with the Deputy President claiming that the government has everything in control, we could blame poor planning and corruption for the hunger and drought currently ravaging some parts of the country.
Devolution Cabinet Secretary Eugene Wamalwa, who distributed more than 1,000 bags of maize, said the government had released Sh2 billion to cushion Kenyans against the long, dry spell.
Eugene said most Kenyans depend on rainwater and seasonal streams, which are not reliable, noting that there is a need to encourage irrigation agriculture.
About 5,000 residents in Oropoi, Turkana County, on the Kenya/Uganda border, need food. Most of them crossed over to Uganda last year but have been forced back following rising tension in the neighbouring country after a banditry attack last week.
They were forced out of the country by security officers following claims that they had stolen cattle from Dodoth herders. Meanwhile, two more people were on Tuesday reported
Speaking during relief food distribution in Nginyang’, Tiaty, Baringo County, on Tuesday, Silale Ward Representative Nelson Lotela claimed to have the names of more than 17 people who have died of hunger in the area.
He said the latest victim was a 60-year-old man who died on Monday evening in Loruk, on the border of Tiaty and Baringo North sub-counties. “We wonder why the government is disputing reports that people have died of hunger in Baringo. We have all the records,” he said.
“I can take the provincial administration to the homesteads of all the people who have succumbed to hunger. Why are they disputing our reports yet we are right? They have even gone to the extent of intimidating us and the local chiefs for giving the reports to the media,” Mr Lotela said.
Meanwhile, Yatya Location Chief Jackson Keitany also said a 75-year-old man died of hunger on Sunday evening. However, Rift Valley Regional Coordinator Mongo Chimwanga on Tuesday insisted that no one had starved to death, adding that mechanisms had been put in place to contain the situation.
“No single soul has been lost in Baringo or Turkana counties as reported by the media. It is only that the short rains experienced in the areas were not enough, and the long rains are late, leading to food and water shortages,” he said.
Reports indicate that Kositei Location Chief Jackson Ronei and Kositei Ward Representative Daniel Tuwit were summoned by the county administration for giving the media “wrong’” information
Acting area Sub-Chief Joshua Elimlim said majority of the residents have no food at all. Meanwhile at the Coast, the Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS) is on high alert after several water pans and pastureland began drying up in Kilifi and Tana River counties.