Ninety goats and sheep have died after drinking water from a shallow well in Turkana
Ekasukout Lomojong, 70, a pastoralist and a resident of Lomokamar village in Lokichar ward, Turkana South, said his livestock died a few minutes after drinking water from the freshly dug well is in Kang'ing'olemong'i.
He said his goats and sheep survived the recent devastating drought only to die after drinking water.
Turkana recently received rains after experiencing three years of failed rains.
“We have been experiencing a drought that ravaged the pasture and water leading to the death of our livestock that we depend on for survival. The drought claimed my livestock and only 90 goats and sheep survived, but it’s sad they have also died,” Lomojong said.
He said they have for many years been digging shallow wells on river beds to water their livestock and no death has ever been reported.
“I had taken sheep and goats to look for water in the dry river bed. I dug the first shallow well but I found it was dry. I dug another one which had water and after watering the thirsty goats and sheep, they all died after a few minutes in the shallow well,” he said.
Lomojong has urged the government and relevant authorities to speed up investigations and find out the cause of the death.
He has also called on the government, humanitarian agencies and well-wishers to support him, saying he has lost his only source of livelihood and he does not know how he will feed his family and educate his children.
Turkana livestock chief officer Ezekiel Etelej led a team of veterinary and public health officers to the scene where the animals died.
“Following the report over the death of goats after allegedly drinking water at a shallow well in the Kang'ing'olemong'i in Lokichar ward, water and soil samples were collected for laboratory chemical analysis,” he said.
Etelej called for calm as samples have been taken for analysis.
He requested Tullow to provide water to the community around their operational areas to prevent such disasters in the future.
Turkana county director for veterinary services Benson Longor said an exam on the animals lungs showed extreme haemorrhage and emphysema which could have led to low oxygen supply to vital organs leading to death.
MCA Samwel Lomodo called for proper analysis of the water samples.
Tullow Oil operational supervisor Ken Ogutu said they are ready to support the affected families in partnership with the county government.
