Two herdsmen allegedly commit suicide after animals die due to drought

Two herdsmen allegedly committed suicide in Turkana after hundreds of their animals died due to drought.

Turkana North Member of Parliament (MP) Christopher Nakuleu claimed the herdsmen stabbed themselves to death in Kokuro and Kibish after the animals, which they consider their main source of livelihood, died as result of depletion of pasture and water.

“More lives are likely to be lost as a result of the unrelenting drought unless the government and humanitarian agencies hasten distribution of relief supplies, water and pasture for the livestock,” said Mr Nakuleu.

But Kibish Sub-County Commissioner Eric Wanyonyi said: “The Turkana value their livestock a lot but I am not aware that any of the herdsmen have committed suicide after losing their animals to drought”.

Mr Nakuleu said more than 100,000 families are faced with starvation in the region and asked that the drought be declared a national disaster.

NATIONAL DISASTER

“The drought is threatening human and animal lives and can no longer be handled by the county government. It needs to be declared a national disaster,” said Mr Nakuleu.

Reports have shown pastoralists in the drought-stricken counties of North Rift have incurred a loss of more than Sh300 million in the past one month after their livestock perished.

The worst hit are Baringo, West Pokot and Turkana counties where thousands of livestock are dying every day due to drying up of major rivers and depletion of pasture.

Barwessa MCA Joseph Makilap said in his ward alone more than 10,000 livestock have perished.

“Each of the cows would have fetched at least Sh30,000 each at normal market rates. You can see the magnitude of the loss our people have incurred as a result of this drought,” said Mr Makilap.

“We fear for the worst should the dry spell persist in the next one month,” he added.

It also emerged that due to the biting drought, livestock prices in the region have drastically dropped due emaciation of the animals.

IN NOVEMBER

At Nginyang’ livestock market in Tiaty, for instance, a cow which used to sell at Sh30,000 in November last year is now going for Sh10,000 while a goat which would have been sold at Sh5,000 in the same period is now going for a mere Sh2,000.

However, residents have no alternative but to sell their animals at throwaway prices for fear that they will perish.

Baringo County Commissioner Peter Okwanyo said measures have been put in place to distribute relief supplies to the famine-stricken families. “We will not allow anybody to die as a result of food shortage due to drought and distribution of relief food is ongoing in the six counties in the region,” he said.

Baringo Senator Gideon Moi has asked the government to keep up the school feeding programme in areas worst hit by the drought.

The situation is not different in West Pokot where thousands of livestock have also perished.

Sigor MP Philip Rotino said most residents have migrated to as far as Uganda in search of water and pasture for their livestock.

“The government should move in urgently and come up with possible measures to avert the situation before residents start losing lives,” said Mr Rotino.

Report by Barnabas Bii, Wycliff Kipsang and Florah Koech.