Where the skies have refused to open

• 130,000 people face starvation, and cattle die in large numbers as drought ravages Narok

A spot check by the Sunday Nation revealed that secondary school students queued late into the night at water points to get water for bathing and drinking, endangering their security and health.

The Narok South District Education Officer Sammy Chemwol said the worst hit divisions are Lower Mau, Mara, Osupuko and parts of Mulot. He said the areas bordering the Mau Forest have not been spared either.

Samson Komen, principal of Ilmotiook secondary school which borders the Mau, said his 500 students trekked for six kilometres daily to fetch water.

“We were optimistic that the short rains which usually come in August would refill the water pan which we usually use. While it has indeed rained though belatedly, it has not been enough to store any water,” he said.

The drought has created serious incidents of animal-human conflict. Elephants from the world-famous Maasai Mara game reserve frequently go on the rampage, leaving dead and injured people in their wake. Herders have also driven their animals deep inside the protected reserve threatening to displace wildlife.

Jirmo Tuqa, the Kenya Wildlife Service senior warden in charge of the Maasai Mara, said the situation was worrying.

“Tourists have actually started complaining that they are seeing more domestic animals than wildlife,” he said.

Rain has fallen on some parts of the extensive district as the Meteorological Department forecast; others are still waiting for water that might come too late.