Govt has no records of Kenyans dying of hunger, says Mutua

Government spokesman Dr Alfred Mutua on Thursday clarified that the State had no records of any Kenyan dying of hunger in the drought hit areas.

Speaking during his weekly press briefing held at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre (KICC) in Nairobi, Dr Mutua said due to the prolonged drought, the number of needy Kenyans is expected to rise to 4.5 million in the next few months.

“It is wrong and unacceptable for any Kenyan to sleep hungry let alone die, and there is food in the country,” he said.

Dr Mutua said the Government had set aside Sh10.5 billion to feed the hungry Kenyans but it requires about Sh30 billion to be able meet the demands for the starving.

“Despite setting aside these amount of money, some Kenyans in some areas are sleeping hungry and starving which is totally unacceptable,” the spokesman added.

Dr Mutua blamed the current distribution and logistics system for delay in the delivery of relief food.

He said the National Youth Service (NYS) and Military had now been deployed in a bid to streamline the exercise.

He added: “The Government is aware that we have Somali refugees who have died as a result of starvation as some of them arrive in Kenya in very malnourished state and do not survive”.

At the same time, Dr Mutua said the Government welcomed initiatives by the private sector and wananchi to raise money to assist the drought stricken Kenyans.

On Wednesday, Safaricom Foundation, Kenya Commercial Bank and Media Owners Association launched a Sh500 million campaign to buy and distribute relief food.

Dr Mutua warned that the Government would take action against some leaders and cartels who were trying to benefit from the current drought.