Famine looms in the North as livestock begins to die

It is happening again, the way it has happened for decades. And as conditions get worse, and their animals begin to die, the herders are like sitting ducks.

“We’re in a terrible situation, and I’m fearing to once again lose my herd,” says 50-year-old Muktar Suleiman.

His herd grazes around Gunana, a border village between Wajir and Mandera districts.

“Our seasonal dam, the only one in this area, dried two months ago. Since then, my cows rely on a bore hole miles away.” says the emaciated man, whose home village was ravaged by the last drought. It previously had 500 families; now seemed deserted following the acute water shortage.

And the few remaining villagers are staring acute hunger and thirst in their faces. Some families rely on a water truck which comes once a week, from Wajir Town over 200 kilometres away.

When the truck arrives, heavily emaciated villagers line up, each family getting 20 litres for the week. It’s the same water they share with their weakest goats.

“Even the largest household gets a maximum of 20 litres. It’s so little most times even the elderly remain thirsty, so that children may survive,” says Mr Suleiman.

Others in the remote village trek long distances to reach the nearest watering point, about 80 kilometres away. Women and children too, hobble across the rough terrain in the tangled bush amid scorching temperatures.

Mr Suleiman has weathered dry seasons, but this time it’s different. “The biggest problem here is water. We have no option. I think in the next few weeks we’ll have to shift completely from this village to wherever we can find water,” he said.

Northern Development and other Arid Lands minister Mohamed Elmi recently visited Gunana Village. “These people are really suffering; they need urgent intervention,” said Mr Elmi.

Many herders like Suleiman, who have lost count of the number of times their herd succumbed to successive droughts in the past few years.

In many pastoral villages of Mandera and Wajir, shortage of water is acute.

In 2006, hundreds of pastoralists families were displaced after close to 80 per cent of their livestock died. Residents fear a similar crippling situation is around the corner. “Fear is always there. Remember we have just emerged from the destruction of a severe drought two years ago, another one is on the horizon,” said Mr Suleiman.

Families in the village are among the 1.2 million Kenyans in northern Kenya facing water and food shortages.

The UN agency World Food Programme, recently warned of a possible catastrophe in the Horn of Africa, citing Kenya’s northern pastoral population among the 14 million people facing hunger.

The vegetation cover is getting depleted and one occasionally pumps into yellowing trees, the usual sign that all is not well. There’s little hope for the short rains in November.

“When things are turning this way, we usually watch in despair and we don’t have much expectation of good rains. Remember drought is recurring in this region,” said Mrs Fatma Alasow, a pastoralist.

The drought in Mandera, for instance, has persisted and the April rains which were not well distributed have rendered most pans and shallow wells dry, resulting in mass migration of people and livestock to other centres.

And pressure is increasing on the few pans and boreholes which are yet to dry up. “The rate of migrating pastoralist in search of water is reaching the highest, occasioning a battle-like competition for basic resources,” said Mohamud Issack an aid worker with Racida an NGO in Mandera.

The barren border between Wajir and Mandera districts where water catchments are yet to dry, remained stomping ground for hundreds of pastoralist from the two districts.

“We are receiving the largest number of pastoralists from Mandera, because the drought there is much worse,” said Wajir East DC Henry Ochaka.

Conflict occasioned by management of pasture and water is likely to increase as herders jam watering points.

“We’re concerned of emerging conflict, because the grass we have is depleting. We have planned a meeting so that pastoralists can share the resources without conflict,” said Mr Ochaka.

In Mandera hunger is also looming large. Aid workers say food shortage is creeping in as several months of failed rains culminate into a crisis.

Malnutrition among children under the age of five, according to an assessment by an international aid agency, is at 21 per cent. Sources indicate a number of livestock have died as a result of the drought in Takaba District.

“The community is vulnerable. Already 60 per cent of the population need food and water. Remember the fasting month of Ramadan is coming, and we might witness tragic scenes if this condition persists,” said Mr Issack.

“We’re awaiting our fate. I’m sure death is just around the corner, because the season is turning from bad to worse,” said Mr. Suleiman.