Some cartels and officers from the Baringo county may be selling relief food meant for hunger stricken residents, Silale
Ward MCA Nelson
Lotela
has said.
Silale said the residents are yet to receive the relief food yet 1,000 bags lie in store at Chemolingot shopping centre.
He alleged that the cartels were stealing the donations and selling them at exorbitant prices.
Speaking to the Star on Saturday
in Chemolingot, Lotela said
some 15,000 residents were still crying of hunger two weeks after a consignment of relief food was offloaded.
“Business people were spotted loading bags of relief maize and beans on lorries and motorbikes. Afterwards, they sell to residents at exorbitant prices," Lotela said.
The ward representative further alleged that the county government officers might be aware of the deals.
“The exchange of money and the bags of relief food is being done openly in Tiaty,” he said.
He said the only relief foods that came as ‘God-sent’ was that donated by the Kenya Red-Cross last week on Wednesday.
“We are still waiting for the government consignment to be distributed,” he said.
He was backed by his Kolowa counterpart Solomon Makal and Daniel
Tuwit
(Ripko).
They claimed that they watched the cartels stealing the foodstuff on Friday night at Chemolingot.
They listed the worst affected areas as Ripko, Kolowa, Silale, Churo/Amaya, Loyamorok, Tangulbei and Tirioko wards.
However, Chemolingot
Division
assistant County Commissioner Charles Mbole dismissed
reports of stolen relief food.
Mbole said they only received some 500 bags of relief food on Friday.
"This is the only government foodstuff we have in store
so far ready for distribution; we have never had 1,000 bags as reported," he said.
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