Garissa flood victims confront leaders inadequate food
Anger and drama greeted leaders who went to visit flood victims in Garissa County after the crowd accused them of bringing few bags of rice for distribution among the hundreds. Among the leaders were Garissa Town MP Aden Duale (left), Garissa Governor Ali Korane (centre) and Devolution CS Eugene Wamalwa (in green shirt). PHOTO | ABDIMALIK HAJIR | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- Victims claim water was intentionally released.
- National Assembly Leader Duale says they will seek compensation from Ken Gen.
- Devolution CS Wamalwa assures resident they will get govt assistance.
Drama greeted leaders who visited people displaced by floods at the Young Muslim Secondary School in Garissa after the victims confronted them over ‘few’ bags of rice they brought for distribution.
The leaders, among them Devolution Cabinet Secretary Eugene Wamalwa, Garissa Governor Ali Korane, National Assembly Majority Leader Aden Duale, and Cabinet Administrative Secretary Hussein Dado, were in Garissa to visit hundreds of victims who have spent two days in the cold as their houses are submerged.
The crowd, who were seemingly not happy with ‘few’ bags of rice that were to be distributed to the hundreds of displaced people, claimed the government was behind their suffering since spillage of huge water volume was released deliberately.
"It is unfortunate that we have spent two nights in the cold and yet not even a single government official either from the national or county has visited us," said an emotional Ms Halima Aden.
The flooding victims claimed that both governments have done little to address their suffering and meet their needs for clean water, food and shelter.
"When you decided to do so, you are coming with a few bags of rice. How this will be distributed among hundreds of people living in this school," she added.
Hundreds of Garissa residents from Bula Punda, Bula Iftin, Bula Sheikh and Windsor have been displaced while in Tana River County, Mororo and Bakuyu residents who live along the river have been the worst hit.
Devolution CS Wamalwa assured the victims that the government is doing everything to give assist the families.
"We will seriously discuss this matter with the relevant cabinet secretaries including the one for Health to that put measures in place to prevent outbreak of water-borne diseases," said Mr Wamalwa.
Garissa Town MP Duale said that the release of the water will be discussed in Parliament to ensure that “somebody takes full responsibility of his or her actions.”
"We will be seeking a compensation of up to Sh40 billion damages from Ken Gen. We will not allow such destruction to happen in future," said Governor Korane.
Kenya Red Cross County Coordinator Ms Tusmo Ogle said there are still people marooned in Jarirot, Korakora, Boura Argy and their teams are doing everything to evacuate them.
She said they have evacuated about 100 people who were stranded in various parts of the county.
Red Cross have also designated various schools within Garissa Township to shelter displaced people. The schools are: Iftin, Tetu, and Tumaini primary schools.
