Image: MUSEMBI NZENGU
Drought and climate change are a national security problem, Interior CS Kithure Kindiki said in Kitui on Saturday.
“As the ministry in charge of internal security, we have focused our attention on drought and climate change not only as a problem but threat to our security," he said.
“Concerted effort by all government departments is prudent to fight climate change and famine.”
The CS addressed residents of Kitui East constituency when he presided over the official opening of the Mutitu North sub-county offices at Ndooa market.
He said that prolonged drought had disrupted security as conflicts have been experienced in areas where pastoralist communities drove their livestock into farms belonging to farming communities.
He added that human-wildlife conflicts had also shot up due to the current biting drought. Kindiki said many parts of Kenya had not received adequate rains for the last three to four years leading to zero farm yields.
“This is the fourth or fifth rains season that has seen depressed rain. And the weather people are not giving us any good news even in the days ahead. We have a huge task to accomplish,” Kindiki said.
Kitui is one of the 13 counties that have been classified by the National Drought Management Authority as being in the alarm phase of the current drought.
Kindiki said the prevailing drought in Kenya is so dire that there is an imminent threat of the country turning into a desert if action is not taken.
Image: MUSEMBI NZENGU
He said famine and drought was widespread and affected all parts of the republic. Even areas that used to get some rains are not getting rain anymore.
“I have been to western Kenya; there, they are begging for relief food. In the past, Western was not asking for food.
“I have been to Kiambu and Nyandarua last week and they are asking for famine relief food. I have been to Nyeri and they are too asking for food. These are areas that traditionally did not experience drought,” he said.
He said it is the reason President William Ruto directed that all possible means must be employed to restore the country’s climatic condition.
“That can only be achieved through afforestation efforts. As a government ministry in charge of internal security and administration, we have been given the role to mobilise the public.
“The public should join hands with national and county government leaders to ensure we grow enough trees to stop our country from slipping into serious vagaries of becoming a desert and famine.”
Kindiki said that the government plans to oversee the planting and growing of 15 billion trees in Kenya in the next nine years.