It is a sad state for the country as thousands of people have passed on from the drought that has had Kenyans in counties like Turkana dying. It is in this faith that the Turkana County government has suspended the annual cultural festival slated for later this month as it battles a deadly hunger caused by the ongoing drought.
Last year, Deputy President William Ruto and First Lady Margaret Kenyatta were among key guests who graced the festival. The
The festival, popularly known as Tobong’u Lore (welcome back home), had already been allocated Sh20 million but Governor Josphat Nanok was forced to suspend it following pressure from MCAs and residents.
Mr Nanok’s administration has been using the one-week festival to showcase Turkana culture and promote tourist sites in the county. This year the county has been hard hit by hunger and deaths linked to it have been reported by residents.
The county has been appealing for food aid for close to a million starving residents. “We have postponed the annual tourism and cultural festival that had been scheduled to take place from April 25 to 27. The Sh20 million that had been allocated to the event was channelled to drought responses,” Governor Nanok said.
Last week, MCAs adopted a motion to cancel the festival, forcing the county government to postpone it. The motion was moved by Turkwel MCA Stephen
“It is shameful to allocate such funds to a three-day activity as thousands of residents are in dire need of relief food and water,” said Mr Edukon. The MCA said that the drought had been prolonged by delayed rainfall, resulting to worsening lack of food and water.