Wajir leaders urge state to help pastoralists restock

Wajir leaders are urging the state to assist pastoralists in restocking animals that they lost during the drought season.

The residents, who majorly depend on livestock, lost a big number of their herds during two seasons of failed rain.

A check in the subcounties revealed a dire situation, with livestock carcasses strewn all over.

Even drought-tolerant animals like camels were not spared.

However, it was a sigh of relief to the pastoralists who received a little rain in December.

The leaders say even though the rain brought some relief with pasture starting to grow and water pans and shallow wells filled with water, there is no livestock to feed on the same.

Wajir governor aspirant Hassan Wehliye, who was recently endorsed by his Fai clan to be the sole governor aspirant, said helping the pastoralists restock would go a long way in assisting them to start their lives afresh.

Wehliye spoke in Wagberi location, Wajir East, on Tuesday where he led a food distribution exercise targeting more than 500,000 households within the county.

Rice, cooking oil, maize flour and sugar were among the foodstuffs distributed.

Wehliye said most residents lost a big number of their livestock while some lost all their animals and have been left at the mercy of the government and well-wishers to put food on the table.

“The government should assist these families with some cash to buy a few animals and start afresh.

"That way, they will be able to put food on the table and meet other basic needs since goats and sheep’s reproduce quite fast,” he said.

Wehliye who was accompanied by several leaders from Wajir expressed fears that several students might be unable to go back to school due to lack of school fees.

He appealed to school heads to be considerate of the plight of families who are still reeling from the effects of drought.

The three-day exercise saw - 1,180 households benefit from the food distribution exercise and water tracking done to settlements within the county.

Both good distribution and water tracking were done in partnership with Al-Imdaad Foundation Kenya.

“Schools are re-opening this week after a very short holiday and parents will be required to pay school fees. The situation is worse for parents with children in secondary schools. We hope that teachers wont be in a hurry to send such needy students back home,” he said.

He urged the government to bring back the school feeding programme in primary school, this he said will help in retention of children in schools.

He also appealed to other well-wishers to come on board and assist as the number of those in need keeps growing every day.

Former nominated MCA Fatuma Yussf appealed to both the national and county governments as well as well wishers to give preference to special interest groups when it comes to assistance.

(Edited by Bilha Makokha)